Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes $874,000 Position in Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 14,175 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $874,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Community Bank System by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,081 shares of the bank's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Community Bank System by 140.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the bank's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in Community Bank System by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,774 shares of the bank's stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Community Bank System in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $125,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. acquired a new position in Community Bank System during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $127,000. 73.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Community Bank System Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE CBU traded down $0.37 on Friday, hitting $56.31. The company had a trading volume of 189,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 256,906. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Community Bank System, Inc. has a 12-month low of $42.16 and a 12-month high of $73.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50 day moving average of $55.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.91.

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

Community Bank System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Community Bank System's payout ratio is 50.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Community Bank System from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th.

About Community Bank System

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.