John Whipple Sells 4,246 Shares of Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) Stock

Community Financial System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) Director John Whipple sold 4,246 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.17, for a total value of $276,711.82. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $554,336.02. This represents a 33.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Community Financial System Price Performance

Shares of Community Financial System stock opened at $66.50 on Friday. Community Financial System, Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.44 and a 52 week high of $67.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $60.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.46.

Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.06). Community Financial System had a return on equity of 11.09% and a net margin of 20.82%.The business had revenue of $215.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.85 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Community Financial System, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Community Financial System Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Community Financial System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Community Financial System

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Community Financial System by 132.9% during 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 during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Community Financial System during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,546,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Community Financial System by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 550,613 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,308,000 after acquiring an additional 40,384 shares in the last quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Community Financial System by 740.1% in the fourth quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 401,450 shares of the bank’s stock worth $23,059,000 after acquiring an additional 353,663 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Community Financial System by 25.3% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 354,906 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,184,000 after acquiring an additional 71,631 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CBU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Community Financial System in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered Community Financial System from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Janney Montgomery Scott cut Community Financial System from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $66.00 price objective (down from $67.00) on shares of Community Financial System in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Community Financial System in a report on Monday, December 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Community Financial System has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.00.

Community Financial System Company 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.