Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. Acquires New Stake in Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU)

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 524,768 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $32,368,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. owned 1.00% of Community Bank System at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CBU. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in shares of Community Bank System by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 5,120 shares of the bank's stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 544 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC increased its stake in shares of Community Bank System by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 68,978 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,255,000 after buying an additional 4,785 shares during the period. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Community Bank System by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 8,496 shares of the bank's stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 1,288 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Community Bank System by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 677,841 shares of the bank's stock worth $41,809,000 after buying an additional 145,172 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of Community Bank System during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,040,000. 73.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Community Bank System Stock Up 3.1%

CBU stock traded up $1.73 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $58.23. 199,668 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 259,879. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. Community Bank System, Inc. has a 1-year low of $42.16 and a 1-year high of $73.39. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $55.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.66. The company has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.93 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Community Bank System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. Community Bank System's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on CBU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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 research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Community Bank System from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday.

Community Bank System 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.