Community Financial System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Community Financial System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $66.6667.

CBU has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Community Financial System in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Community Financial System in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Community Financial System in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of Community Financial System from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Community Financial System from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th.

Insider Transactions at Community Financial System

In other Community Financial System news, Director John F. Whipple sold 4,246 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.17, for a total value of $276,711.82. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $554,336.02. The trade was a 33.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eric Stickels sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.75, for a total value of $129,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 33,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,158,894.50. The trade was a 5.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Community Financial System

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Community Financial System by 507.0% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 522 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Community Financial System by 177.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 781 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the period. Lipe & Dalton purchased a new position in shares of Community Financial System during the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. CWM LLC increased its position in Community Financial System by 56.1% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 899 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Community Financial System by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.79% of the company’s stock.

Community Financial System Stock Performance

Shares of CBU stock opened at $62.85 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.83 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $62.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Community Financial System has a 12 month low of $49.44 and a 12 month high of $67.50.

Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $215.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.85 million. Community Financial System had a net margin of 20.82% and a return on equity of 11.09%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Community Financial System will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Community Financial System Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Community Financial System’s payout ratio is presently 47.36%.

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.