4,522 Shares in Community Financial System, Inc. $CBU Acquired by Eisler Capital Management Ltd.

Key Points

• Eisler Capital Management Ltd. has acquired a position worth approximately $257,000 in Community Financial System, purchasing 4,522 shares in the first quarter.
• Community Financial System has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.47 per share, up from $0.46, with a dividend yield of 3.1%.
• Analysts have recently issued ratings changes for Community Financial System, with a downgrade from "hold" to "sell" by Wall Street Zen and a decrease in price target by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $69.00 to $67.00.

Eisler Capital Management Ltd. acquired 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 fund acquired 4,522 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CBU. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Community Financial System in the 4th quarter valued at about $687,000. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in Community Financial System by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 32,727 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,019,000 after buying an additional 1,976 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Community Financial System by 60.0% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 12,950 shares of the bank's stock valued at $801,000 after buying an additional 4,857 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Community Financial System by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 39,791 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,455,000 after buying an additional 3,735 shares during the period. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Community Financial System in the 4th quarter valued at about $125,000. 73.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Community Financial System Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:CBU traded down $0.03 on Wednesday, reaching $59.35. 41,296 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 238,788. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a fifty day moving average of $57.19 and a 200-day moving average of $56.95. Community Financial System, Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.44 and a 52-week high of $73.39.

Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $199.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $201.93 million. Community Financial System had a return on equity of 10.71% and a net margin of 19.91%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Community Financial System, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Community Financial System Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This is a positive change from Community Financial System's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Community Financial System's payout ratio is currently 50.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Community Financial System

In related news, SVP Jeffrey M. Levy sold 1,440 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.38, for a total transaction of $88,387.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 6,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $408,606.66. This represents a 17.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CBU. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Community Financial System from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.00.

Community Financial System Company 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.