Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New $874,000 Investment in Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 14,175 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $874,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CBU. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Community Bank System by 103.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 63,027 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,888,000 after purchasing an additional 32,059 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Community Bank System during the fourth quarter worth about $32,368,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Community Bank System by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 5,120 shares of the bank's stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC lifted its position in Community Bank System by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 68,978 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,255,000 after acquiring an additional 4,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC lifted its position in Community Bank System by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 8,496 shares of the bank's stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 1,288 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.79% of the company's stock.

Community Bank System Stock Performance

CBU stock traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $57.76. The company had a trading volume of 159,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 260,226. Community Bank System, Inc. has a 12 month low of $42.16 and a 12 month high of $73.39. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $55.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.58. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76.

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

Community Bank System Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Community Bank System's dividend payout ratio is 50.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CBU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Community Bank System from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com raised Community Bank System from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday.

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.