Community Financial System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) Shares Sold by New Age Alpha Advisors LLC

Key Points

• New Age Alpha Advisors LLC has significantly reduced its stake in Community Financial System, Inc. by 71.4%, now holding just 2,729 shares worth approximately $155,000.
• Community Financial System has announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.47, up from the previous $0.46, reflecting a 3.5% yield.
• Recent research reports have downgraded Community Financial System's stock, with Wall Street Zen changing its rating from "hold" to "sell," and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreasing its price target.

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lowered its position in Community Financial System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU - Free Report) by 71.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,729 shares of the bank's stock after selling 6,816 shares during the quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC's holdings in Community Financial System were worth $155,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in shares of Community Financial System by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,950 shares of the bank's stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its stake in shares of Community Financial System by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 9,755 shares of the bank's stock valued at $555,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Community Financial System by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 9,140 shares of the bank's stock valued at $564,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Community Financial System by 19.8% in the 1st 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, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of Community Financial System by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 5,120 shares of the bank's stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.79% of the company's stock.

Community Financial System Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of CBU stock traded up $0.10 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $58.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 375,638 shares, compared to its average volume of 241,037. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.06 and a beta of 0.80. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $56.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.67. Community Financial System, Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.44 and a 1-year high of $73.39.

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

Community Financial System Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This is a boost from Community Financial System's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Community Financial System's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Community Financial System from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Community Financial System from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd.

About Community Financial 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.