Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU) Downgraded to Market Perform at Raymond James

Raymond James lowered shares of Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports.

Community Bank System Price Performance

NYSE CBU opened at $62.83 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.76 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.76. Community Bank System has a 52-week low of $35.38 and a 52-week high of $63.95.

Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.14. Community Bank System had a net margin of 15.90% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The company had revenue of $183.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $180.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Community Bank System will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Community Bank System Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.46 dividend. This is a positive change from Community Bank System’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Community Bank System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.60%.

Insider Transactions at Community Bank System

In other news, CEO Dimitar Karaivanov purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $43.52 per share, with a total value of $43,520.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 19,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $855,298.56. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Community Bank System

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Strs Ohio raised its holdings in Community Bank System by 900.0% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 1,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of Community Bank System by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 2,695 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Community Bank System by 37,162.5% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,981 shares of the bank’s stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 2,973 shares during the last quarter. Invesco LLC bought a new stake in Community Bank System during the fourth quarter worth approximately $181,000. Finally, Bailard Inc. acquired a new position in Community Bank System during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $203,000. 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.