Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Community Bank System from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Community Bank System Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CBU traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $57.84. 25,802 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 258,966. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.81 and a beta of 0.77. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $55.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.67. Community Bank System has a 52-week low of $42.16 and a 52-week high of $73.39.

Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Community Bank System had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 19.40%. The firm had revenue of $196.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $197.13 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Community Bank System will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Community Bank System

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC grew its position in Community Bank System by 99.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 109,647 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,367,000 after purchasing an additional 54,554 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Community Bank System by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 254,869 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,720,000 after purchasing an additional 7,160 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Community Bank System during the 4th quarter valued at $687,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Community Bank System by 264.8% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 33,239 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,050,000 after buying an additional 24,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Community Bank System during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,779,000. 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.