Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) Reaches New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Community Financial System shares hit a new 52-week high intraday, reaching as much as $67.80 as investors continued to bid the stock higher.
• Recent analyst updates were mixed but generally supportive, with Piper Sandler raising its price target to $66 and Raymond James reiterating a strong-buy rating with a $75 target. The stock now carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $69.75.
• The company posted solid quarterly results and continues paying dividends, beating EPS estimates with $1.15 per share and announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.47 per share, or $1.88 annually for a 2.8% yield.

Shares of Community Financial System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $67.80 and last traded at $67.8150, with a volume of 31850 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $66.60.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CBU. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Community Financial System from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Community Financial System from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Community Financial System in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Community Financial System from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Community Financial System in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.75.

Community Financial System Trading Up 0.8%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $63.26 and a 200 day moving average of $61.69. The firm has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The bank reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.05. Community Financial System had a return on equity of 11.24% and a net margin of 21.26%.The business had revenue of $213.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.36 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Community Financial System, Inc. will post 4.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Community Financial System Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Community Financial System's payout ratio is currently 45.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Community Financial System news, Director Eric Stickels sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.98, for a total transaction of $127,960.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 31,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,021,256.16. This represents a 5.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Community Financial System

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Community Financial System by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 48,580 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,763,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Community Financial System by 1.0% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 20,468 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Community Financial System by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 12,205 shares of the bank's stock worth $701,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Community Financial System by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,032 shares of the bank's stock worth $577,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Community Financial System by 0.3% in the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 92,254 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,246,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. 73.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Community Financial System Company Profile

Community Financial System NYSE: CBU is the bank holding company for Community Bank, National Association, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in DeWitt, New York. Through its principal subsidiary, the company offers a range of banking and financial services designed to meet the needs of both consumer and business clients. Its organizational structure centers on community-based banking operations supported by centralized technology, risk management and administrative functions.

The company's product offerings include deposit accounts, residential and commercial mortgage loans, commercial and consumer lending, treasury and cash management services, and electronic banking.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.