Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) Raised to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on CBU. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Community Financial System from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Community Financial System from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Community Financial System in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Community Financial System currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.75.

Community Financial System Price Performance

Shares of Community Financial System stock opened at $67.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Community Financial System has a one year low of $51.12 and a one year high of $71.11. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29 and a beta of 0.77.

Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The bank reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.05. Community Financial System had a return on equity of 11.24% and a net margin of 21.26%.The firm had revenue of $213.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Community Financial System will post 4.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Community Financial System

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Community Financial System in the 4th quarter valued at 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 during the period. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 353,663 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Community Financial System in the second quarter worth $15,185,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Community Financial System by 10,989.2% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 200,049 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,491,000 after purchasing an additional 198,245 shares in the last quarter. 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.