Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Community Financial System in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Community Financial System from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Community Financial System from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.75.

Community Financial System Stock Performance

CBU opened at $67.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Community Financial System has a 52-week low of $51.12 and a 52-week high of $71.11. The firm has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s fifty day moving average is $65.38 and its 200-day moving average is $62.95.

Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The bank reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $213.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.36 million. Community Financial System had a return on equity of 11.24% and a net margin of 21.26%.Community Financial System’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Community Financial System will post 4.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Community Financial System Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.49 dividend. This is a boost from Community Financial System’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Community Financial System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark J. Bolus sold 12,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $816,797.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 94,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,302,020. This trade represents a 11.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eric Stickels sold 2,000 shares of Community Financial System stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.98, for a total transaction of $127,960.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 31,592 shares in the company, valued at $2,021,256.16. This trade represents a 5.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Community Financial System

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CBU. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Community Financial System by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 31,141 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,771,000 after buying an additional 1,362 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Community Financial System by 7.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 550,613 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,308,000 after buying an additional 40,384 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Community Financial System by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 136,619 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,768,000 after acquiring an additional 8,182 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Community Financial System by 523.4% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 145,719 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,286,000 after acquiring an additional 122,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Community Financial System by 37.5% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 25,846 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 7,052 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.79% of the company’s stock.

About Community Financial System

Community Financial System (NYSE: CBU) is the bank holding company for Community Bank, National Association, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in DeWitt, New York. Through its principal subsidiary, the company offers a range of banking and financial services designed to meet the needs of both consumer and business clients. Its organizational structure centers on community-based banking operations supported by centralized technology, risk management and administrative functions.

The company’s product offerings include deposit accounts, residential and commercial mortgage loans, commercial and consumer lending, treasury and cash management services, and electronic banking.