Community Financial System, Inc. (CBU) - What Are Brokerages Thinking About This Stock?

Key Points

• Analysts have a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Community Financial System, with an average 12-month price target of $69.25 versus the stock’s reported $62.16 price. However, four of six analysts recommend holding the shares, and several firms recently lowered their targets.
• The company beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.27 in EPS and $230.21 million in revenue, with year-over-year revenue growth of 9.8%. Analysts expect full-year EPS of approximately $4.60.
• Community Financial System announced a quarterly dividend of $0.49 per share, equating to a 3.2% annualized yield. Institutional investors own 73.79% of the stock, while a company director recently purchased additional shares.

Shares of Community Financial System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $69.25.

A number of research firms have commented on CBU. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Community Financial System from $71.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Community Financial System from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Community Financial System in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Community Financial System from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Community Financial System from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th.

Community Financial System Stock Down 0.3%

CBU stock opened at $62.16 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.03 and a beta of 0.75. The company's 50 day moving average is $61.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.86. Community Financial System has a twelve month low of $53.46 and a twelve month high of $71.11.

Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The bank reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $230.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $227.15 million. Community Financial System had a return on equity of 11.78% and a net margin of 22.05%. The firm's revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. Research analysts expect that Community Financial System will post 4.60 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Community Financial System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Community Financial System's payout ratio is presently 44.24%.

Insider Activity at Community Financial System

In other news, Director Brenda M. Hall acquired 476 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $63.59 per share, with a total value of $30,268.84. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,748.85. The trade was a 1,220.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Community Financial System in the second quarter valued at approximately $507,210,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Community Financial System by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,818,395 shares of the bank's stock worth $106,647,000 after buying an additional 20,428 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Community Financial System during the second quarter worth approximately $36,523,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Community Financial System by 3.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 598,786 shares of the bank's stock worth $35,119,000 after buying an additional 19,433 shares during the period. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Community Financial System during the 2nd quarter valued at $21,547,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.79% of the company's stock.

Community Financial System Company Profile

Community Financial System, Inc NYSE: CBU is a diversified financial services company headquartered in DeWitt, New York. Formerly known as Community Bank System, Inc, the company traces its banking history to 1866 and operates through Community Bank, N.A., along with other financial services businesses.

Its banking operations provide consumer and commercial deposit accounts, residential and commercial lending, agricultural financing, municipal banking, cash management, and other financial products.

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