Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Community Bank System from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Community Bank System Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of CBU stock opened at $58.05 on Friday. Community Bank System has a 1 year low of $42.16 and a 1 year high of $73.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The business’s fifty day moving average is $55.47 and its 200-day moving average is $61.58. The stock has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of 16.87 and a beta of 0.77.

Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Community Bank System had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 19.40%. The firm had revenue of $196.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.13 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. Community Bank System’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Community Bank System will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Community Bank System Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Community Bank System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Community Bank System

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Community Bank System by 99.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 109,647 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,367,000 after buying an additional 54,554 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Community Bank System by 699.3% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 144,817 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,932,000 after acquiring an additional 126,700 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Community Bank System during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $226,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its holdings in shares of Community Bank System by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 55,445 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,420,000 after acquiring an additional 5,688 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Community Bank System in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.79% of the company’s stock.

Community Bank System Company Profile

Community Bank System, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Community Bank, N.A. that provides various banking and other financial services to retail, commercial, institutional, and municipal customers. It operates through three segments: Banking, Employee Benefit Services, and All Other. The company offers various deposits products, such as interest and noninterest -bearing checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts, as well as time deposits.