Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $69.83 and last traded at $69.39, with a volume of 30811 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $62.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $59.00 price target on shares of Community Bank System in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Raymond James upgraded Community Bank System from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $67.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th.

Community Bank System Stock Up 13.8 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $59.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.38 and a beta of 0.62.

Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $188.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.35 million. Community Bank System had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 18.82%. Community Bank System’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Community Bank System, Inc. will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Community Bank System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Community Bank System’s payout ratio is presently 57.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Community Bank System

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Community Bank System by 10.0% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 13,488 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $783,000 after acquiring an additional 1,228 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Community Bank System by 23.6% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,816 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc lifted its stake in shares of Community Bank System by 30.6% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 7,621 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,787 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Community Bank System by 19.9% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,867 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 972 shares during the period. Finally, Ausbil Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Community Bank System by 494.7% during the third quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 30,552 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,774,000 after acquiring an additional 25,415 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.79% of the company’s stock.

Community Bank System Company Profile

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.