Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Community Financial System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $68.77 and last traded at $68.5960, with a volume of 53838 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $67.12.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on CBU. Weiss Ratings downgraded Community Financial System from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Community Financial System from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Community Financial System in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Community Financial System from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Community Financial System presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.75.

Community Financial System Trading Down 1.4%

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.03. The stock has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.38 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The bank reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.05. Community Financial System had a return on equity of 11.24% and a net margin of 21.26%.The firm had revenue of $213.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Community Financial System, Inc. will post 4.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Community Financial System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Community Financial System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark J. Bolus sold 12,191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $816,797.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 94,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,302,020. This represents a 11.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Eric Stickels sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.98, for a total transaction of $127,960.00. Following the sale, the director owned 31,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,021,256.16. This represents a 5.95% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Community Financial System during the 4th quarter worth $38,993,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Community Financial System by 132.9% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 636,257 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,310,000 after acquiring an additional 363,012 shares during the period. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Community Financial System by 740.1% in the fourth quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 401,450 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $23,059,000 after acquiring an additional 353,663 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Community Financial System in the second quarter valued at about $15,185,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Community Financial System by 10,989.2% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 200,049 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,491,000 after acquiring an additional 198,245 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.79% of the company’s stock.

Community Financial System Company Profile

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.