Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) Earns "Market Perform" Rating from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating for Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU), lowering the price target from $67.00 to $66.00, suggesting a potential upside of 16.53% from its previous close.
• Community Financial System's recent quarterly earnings showed $1.04 EPS, surpassing analyst estimates of $1.03, and marked a revenue increase of 9.6% year-over-year.
• Insider trading activity included a sale by SVP Jeffrey M. Levy of 1,440 shares at about $61.38 each, representing a 17.78% decrease in his ownership of the stock.

Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "market perform" rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $66.00 price target on the bank's stock, down from their previous price target of $67.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price target points to a potential upside of 16.53% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on CBU. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Community Financial System in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Community Financial System from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.67.

Community Financial System Trading Up 0.5%

Community Financial System stock traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $56.64. The stock had a trading volume of 45,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 241,144. The firm has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.59 and a beta of 0.77. Community Financial System has a twelve month low of $49.44 and a twelve month high of $73.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $58.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.75.

Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The bank reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.01. Community Financial System had a net margin of 20.72% and a return on equity of 11.26%. The business had revenue of $207.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $206.85 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. Community Financial System's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Community Financial System will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Community Financial System

In related news, SVP Jeffrey M. Levy sold 1,440 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.38, for a total value of $88,387.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 6,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $408,606.66. This represents a 17.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Community Financial System

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CBU. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Community Financial System by 2.9% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 262,245 shares of the bank's stock worth $14,911,000 after acquiring an additional 7,376 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in shares of Community Financial System by 7.4% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 26,478 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,506,000 after buying an additional 1,823 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Community Financial System during the 1st quarter worth approximately $622,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Community Financial System by 841.6% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the bank's stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Community Financial System by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 83,987 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,775,000 after purchasing an additional 8,810 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.79% of the company's stock.

Community Financial 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.