Rafferty Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Community Financial System, Inc. $CBU

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Community Financial System, Inc. by 30.1%, worth approximately $1.90 million, following a sale of 14,420 shares during the first quarter.
• Community Financial System revealed a quarterly dividend increase to $0.47, with an upcoming payment date of October 10th, marking a 3.1% dividend yield.
• Despite reporting a missed earnings per share estimate of $0.97 against a consensus of $1.03, the company's revenue increased by 8.4% year-over-year, totaling $199.30 million.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Community Financial System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU - Free Report) by 30.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,411 shares of the bank's stock after selling 14,420 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Community Financial System worth $1,900,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Community Financial System during the 4th quarter worth $125,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Community Financial System by 19.8% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,798 shares of the bank's stock worth $159,000 after buying an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Community Financial System in the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Community Financial System during the first quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Community Financial System during the first quarter worth $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Community Financial System

In related news, SVP Jeffrey M. Levy sold 1,440 shares of Community Financial System stock in a transaction 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 owned 6,657 shares in the company, valued at $408,606.66. This trade represents a 17.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Community Financial System Price Performance

Shares of CBU stock traded up $1.02 on Thursday, reaching $60.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 86,210 shares, compared to its average volume of 238,597. Community Financial System, Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.44 and a 12-month high of $73.39. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $57.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.96. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Community Financial System Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.47 dividend. 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. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Community Financial System's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CBU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Community Financial System from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Community Financial System from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock 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.