Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Buys New Shares in Community Financial System, Inc. $CBU

Key Points

• Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired 20,390 shares of Community Financial System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) during the first quarter, amounting to approximately $1.16 million.
• Community Financial System recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.47 per share, representing an annual yield of 3.1%, set to be paid on October 10th.
• The company's stock has experienced a 12-month price range between $49.44 and $73.39, and currently trades around $60.23.

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Community Financial System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 20,390 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,159,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Community Financial System by 2.9% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 262,245 shares of the bank's stock valued at $14,911,000 after buying an additional 7,376 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in 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 valued at $1,506,000 after acquiring an additional 1,823 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Community Financial System by 11.7% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 83,987 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,775,000 after acquiring an additional 8,810 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Community Financial System by 19.8% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,798 shares of the bank's stock valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Community Financial System by 14,655.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 17,854 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 17,733 shares during the period. 73.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Community Financial System from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Community Financial System from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Community Financial System has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.00.

Community Financial System Stock Performance

Shares of CBU traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $59.19. 57,721 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 236,316. Community Financial System, Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.44 and a 52 week high of $73.39. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $57.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.78. The firm has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.03 by ($0.06). Community Financial System had a return on equity of 10.71% and a net margin of 19.91%.The business had revenue of $199.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $201.93 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Community Financial System, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Community Financial System Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is a positive change from Community Financial System's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Community Financial System's payout ratio is 51.23%.

Insider Transactions at Community Financial System

In related news, SVP Jeffrey M. Levy sold 1,440 shares of Community Financial System stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.38, for a total value of $88,387.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 6,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at $408,606.66. This trade represents a 17.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Community Financial 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.