StockNews.com Upgrades Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU) to “Hold”

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

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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 research report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Community Bank System Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE CBU opened at $58.05 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Community Bank System has a 52 week low of $42.16 and a 52 week high of $73.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $55.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.87 and a beta of 0.77.

Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $196.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.13 million. Community Bank System had a net margin of 19.40% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Community Bank System will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Community Bank System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Community Bank System’s payout ratio is currently 50.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Community Bank System

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CBU. Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Community Bank System by 48.8% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 698 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Community Bank System by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,081 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Community Bank System by 140.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Community Bank System by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,774 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Community Bank System in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $125,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.79% of the company’s stock.

About Community Bank System

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.