Analyzing Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) & Acadian Asset Management (NYSE:AAMI)

Acadian Asset Management (NYSE:AAMI) and Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, profitability, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Acadian Asset Management and Community Financial System’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Acadian Asset Management	14.19%	165.86%	16.94%
Community Financial System	20.82%	11.09%	1.26%

Risk & Volatility

Acadian Asset Management has a beta of 1.31, indicating that its stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Community Financial System has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

98.7% of Acadian Asset Management shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.8% of Community Financial System shares are held by institutional investors. 26.0% of Acadian Asset Management shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Community Financial System shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Acadian Asset Management pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.1%. Community Financial System pays an annual dividend of $1.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Acadian Asset Management pays out 1.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Community Financial System pays out 47.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Community Financial System has raised its dividend for 33 consecutive years. Community Financial System is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Acadian Asset Management and Community Financial System, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Acadian Asset Management	0	4	1	0	2.20
Community Financial System	0	4	0	0	2.00

Acadian Asset Management currently has a consensus price target of $52.00, suggesting a potential upside of 0.30%. Community Financial System has a consensus price target of $64.00, suggesting a potential downside of 3.24%. Given Acadian Asset Management’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Acadian Asset Management is more favorable than Community Financial System.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Acadian Asset Management and Community Financial System”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Acadian Asset Management	$563.70 million	3.28	$80.00 million	$2.21	23.46
Community Financial System	$1.01 billion	3.45	$210.46 million	$3.97	16.66

Community Financial System has higher revenue and earnings than Acadian Asset Management. Community Financial System is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Acadian Asset Management, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Acadian Asset Management beats Community Financial System on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Acadian Asset Management

Acadian Asset Management Inc. is a publically owned asset management holding company. The firm provides its services to individuals and institutions. It manages separate client focused portfolios through its subsidiaries. The firm also launches equity mutual funds for its clients. It invests in public equity, fixed income, and alternative investment markets through its subsidiaries. The firm was founded in 1980 is based Boston, Massachusetts. It was formally known as BrightSphere Investment Group plc. BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. was formed in 1980 and is based in Boston, Massachusetts.

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. It also provides loans, including consumer mortgages; general purpose commercial and industrial loans, and mortgages on commercial properties; paycheck protection program loans; installment loans that are originated through selected dealerships and are secured by automobiles, marine, and other recreational vehicles; personal installment loans and check credit lines of credit for consumers; and home equity products. In addition, the company offers broker-dealer and investment advisory; cash management, investment, and treasury services; asset management services; and employee benefit services, as well as operates as a full-service insurance agency that provides personal and commercial lines of insurance, and other risk management products and services. Further, it offers contribution plan administration, employee benefit trust, collective investment fund, retirement plan administration and benefit consulting, fund administration, transfer agency, actuarial and benefit consulting, and health and welfare consulting services; and act as an investor in residential and commercial real estate activities. Additionally, the company offers wealth management, retirement planning, higher educational planning, fiduciary, risk management, trust, and personal financial planning services; and investment alternatives, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and insurance and advisory products, as well as master recordkeeping services. Community Bank System, Inc. was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in DeWitt, New York.