Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Community Financial System, Inc. $CBU

Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Community Financial System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 10,734 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $720,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Community Financial System during the second quarter worth approximately $507,210,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Community Financial System by 1.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,818,395 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $106,647,000 after purchasing an additional 20,428 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Community Financial System in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,993,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in 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 worth $37,310,000 after purchasing an additional 363,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Community Financial System by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 550,613 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,308,000 after purchasing an additional 40,384 shares during the period. 73.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Community Financial System

In related news, Director Eric Stickels sold 2,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director directly owned 31,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,021,256.16. This represents a 5.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mark J. Bolus sold 12,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $816,797.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 94,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,302,020. This represents a 11.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Community Financial System Stock Performance

Shares of Community Financial System stock opened at $62.94 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of 14.60 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.40. Community Financial System, Inc. has a one year low of $53.46 and a one year high of $71.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The bank reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $218.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $221.77 million. Community Financial System had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 21.79%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.04 EPS. Research analysts expect that Community Financial System, Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Community Financial System Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Community Financial System’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Community Financial System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on CBU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Community Financial System from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Community Financial System from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Community Financial System in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Community Financial System from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Community Financial System from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. One investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Community Financial System has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.50.

Community Financial System 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.