Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. Grows Position in Community Financial System, Inc. $CBU

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its stake in Community Financial System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) by 11.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 530,874 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 53,191 shares during the quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. owned approximately 1.01% of Community Financial System worth $31,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Community Financial System by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 8,760 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in shares of Community Financial System by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 7,973 shares of the bank’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 861 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Community Financial System during the first quarter worth $1,372,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Community Financial System by 42.8% during the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 5,944 shares of the bank’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Community Financial System by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,032 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. 73.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Community Financial System Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of CBU opened at $68.45 on Thursday. Community Financial System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $51.12 and a twelve month high of $68.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.62 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.97.

Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The bank reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $213.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.36 million. Community Financial System had a return on equity of 11.24% and a net margin of 21.26%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Community Financial System, Inc. will post 4.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Community Financial System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Community Financial System’s dividend payout ratio is 45.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark J. Bolus sold 12,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $816,797.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 94,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,302,020. This trade represents a 11.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Eric Stickels sold 2,000 shares of Community Financial System stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,021,256.16. This trade represents a 5.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Community Financial System from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Community Financial System from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Community Financial System in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Community Financial System from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.75.

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.