Stone House Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU)

Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,360 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the period. Stone House Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Community Bank System were worth $137,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Community Bank System during the second quarter valued at $76,000. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Community Bank System by 23.6% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,816 shares of the bank’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in shares of Community Bank System by 27.5% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 3,436 shares of the bank’s stock worth $162,000 after buying an additional 741 shares in the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Community Bank System in the second quarter worth $212,000. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Community Bank System in the second quarter worth $231,000. 73.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Community Bank System Price Performance

NYSE CBU traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $70.23. 12,896 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 281,070. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.00. Community Bank System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.50 and a 1 year high of $73.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.84 and a beta of 0.62.

Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $188.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.35 million. Community Bank System had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 18.82%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Community Bank System, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Community Bank System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Community Bank System’s payout ratio is presently 57.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Community Bank System news, Director John F. Whipple sold 3,937 shares of Community Bank System stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.10, for a total transaction of $287,794.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $425,661.30. The trade was a 40.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.78% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Community Bank System 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.