Wall Street Zen Upgrades Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) to Hold

Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Community Financial System in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $62.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Community Financial System from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered Community Financial System from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, DA Davidson started coverage on Community Financial System in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.67.

Community Financial System Trading Up 0.1%

Community Financial System stock opened at $56.26 on Friday. Community Financial System has a 12 month low of $49.44 and a 12 month high of $67.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.49.

Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $215.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.85 million. Community Financial System had a return on equity of 11.09% and a net margin of 20.82%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Community Financial System will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Community Financial System news, Director Eric Stickels sold 2,000 shares of Community Financial System stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.75, for a total transaction of $129,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 33,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,158,894.50. The trade was a 5.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Maureen A. Gillan-Myer sold 3,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.85, for a total value of $203,032.50. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,696 shares of company stock worth $609,244. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Community Financial System

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CBU. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Community Financial System by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the bank’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Community Financial System by 0.4% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 48,580 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,763,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Community Financial System by 1.0% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 20,468 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,164,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Community Financial System by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 12,205 shares of the bank’s stock worth $701,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Community Financial System by 1.4% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,639 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $917,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. 73.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Community Financial System

Community Financial System (NYSE: CBU) is the bank holding company for Community Bank, National Association, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in DeWitt, New York. Through its principal subsidiary, the company offers a range of banking and financial services designed to meet the needs of both consumer and business clients. Its organizational structure centers on community-based banking operations supported by centralized technology, risk management and administrative functions.

The company’s product offerings include deposit accounts, residential and commercial mortgage loans, commercial and consumer lending, treasury and cash management services, and electronic banking.