Financial Analysis: Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) & Macro Bank (NYSE:BMA)

Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) and Macro Bank (NYSE:BMA) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, earnings, valuation and institutional ownership.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Community Financial System and Macro Bank”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Community Financial System	$879.45 million	3.84	$210.46 million	$4.43	14.56
Macro Bank	$4,024.32 billion	0.00	$231.60 million	$4.57	12.25

Macro Bank has higher revenue and earnings than Community Financial System. Macro Bank is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Community Financial System, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

73.8% of Community Financial System shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of Community Financial System shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 18.3% of Macro Bank shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Community Financial System and Macro Bank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Community Financial System	22.05%	11.78%	1.36%
Macro Bank	5.95%	8.65%	2.04%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Community Financial System and Macro Bank, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Community Financial System	0	4	1	1	2.50
Macro Bank	1	2	4	0	2.43

Community Financial System presently has a consensus price target of $69.25, indicating a potential upside of 7.37%. Macro Bank has a consensus price target of $101.25, indicating a potential upside of 80.92%. Given Macro Bank’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Macro Bank is more favorable than Community Financial System.

Dividends

Community Financial System pays an annual dividend of $1.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Macro Bank pays an annual dividend of $3.66 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.5%. Community Financial System pays out 44.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Macro Bank pays out 80.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Community Financial System has raised its dividend for 33 consecutive years.

Risk & Volatility

Community Financial System has a beta of 0.75, suggesting that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Macro Bank has a beta of 1.5, suggesting that its share price is 50% more volatile than the S&P 500.

About Community Financial System

Community Financial System, Inc. is a diversified financial services company headquartered in DeWitt, New York. Its principal subsidiary, Community Bank, N.A., provides personal and business banking services, including deposit accounts, lending, and cash management. The company also offers retirement plan administration and employee benefits services, insurance brokerage, and wealth management and investment advisory services through its specialized subsidiaries. Through its banking network, Community Financial System serves customers in New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Massachusetts.

About Macro Bank

Macro Bank, formally Banco Macro S.A., is an Argentine financial services company that provides banking products to individuals, businesses and other organizations. Its services include deposit accounts, personal and commercial loans, credit and debit cards, and digital banking, as well as cash-management and other banking services for businesses. The company serves customers across Argentina through its banking network and online channels. Its history dates to 1976, when it began as a financial institution before expanding into commercial banking.