Community Financial System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $70.00 According to Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Community Financial System a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average 12-month price target of $70.00 versus the stock’s reported $59.30 opening price. Ratings include four holds, one buy and one strong buy.
• The company’s latest quarterly results slightly missed expectations, with EPS of $1.16 versus $1.18 expected and revenue of $218.45 million versus $221.77 million forecast, although revenue increased 12% year over year.
• Community Financial System raised its quarterly dividend to $0.49 per share, implying an annualized payout of $1.96 and a 3.3% yield. Institutional investors own 73.79% of the company’s stock.

Shares of Community Financial System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $70.00.

CBU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Community Financial System from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Community Financial System from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Community Financial System in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Community Financial System from $71.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday.

Community Financial System Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Community Financial System stock opened at $59.30 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 13.76 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company's fifty day moving average price is $62.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.39. Community Financial System has a 52-week low of $53.46 and a 52-week high of $71.11.

Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The bank reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $218.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $221.77 million. Community Financial System had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 21.79%.Community Financial System's revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.04 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Community Financial System will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

Community Financial System Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. This is an increase from Community Financial System's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Community Financial System's payout ratio is 45.48%.

Insider Transactions at Community Financial System

In other news, Director Brenda M. Hall purchased 476 shares of Community Financial System stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $63.59 per share, for a total transaction of $30,268.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,748.85. This represents a 1,220.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Community Financial System

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CBU. Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in shares of Community Financial System by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 22,224 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,323,000 after acquiring an additional 1,677 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Community Financial System during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Community Financial System by 69.6% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 875 shares of the bank's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Community Financial System by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,678 shares of the bank's stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new position in Community Financial System in the 2nd quarter valued at $319,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.79% of the company's stock.

About Community Financial System

Community Financial System, Inc NYSE: CBU is a diversified financial services company headquartered in DeWitt, New York. Its principal banking subsidiary, Community Bank, N.A., provides a broad range of financial products and services to individuals, families, farmers, small businesses and commercial customers.

The company's banking operations include deposit accounts, residential and commercial lending, agricultural financing, consumer loans, cash management and other business banking services.

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