John Vaccaro Purchases 317 Shares of Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) Stock

Community Financial System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) Director John Vaccaro acquired 317 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $63.11 per share, with a total value of $20,005.87. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,050.12. This represents a 181.14% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Community Financial System Stock Up 0.1%

CBU traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $63.15. The stock had a trading volume of 146,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 260,862. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.65 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $65.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.36. Community Financial System, Inc. has a one year low of $53.46 and a one year high of $71.11.

Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The bank reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.18 by ($0.02). Community Financial System had a net margin of 21.79% and a return on equity of 11.47%. The business had revenue of $218.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $221.77 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Community Financial System, Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Community Financial System Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This is an increase from Community Financial System’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Community Financial System’s payout ratio is presently 45.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on CBU shares. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Community Financial System in a research report on Thursday, April 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Community Financial System from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Community Financial System from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.50.

Institutional Trading of Community Financial System

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Community Financial System in the second quarter valued at about $507,210,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Community Financial System by 7,119.4% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,100,965 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $275,257,000 after acquiring an additional 4,044,160 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Community Financial System during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,993,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Community Financial System in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,523,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Community Financial System by 132.9% in the 3rd 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.79% of the company’s stock.

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.