Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU) Coverage Initiated at Janney Montgomery Scott

Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU – Get Rating) in a report issued on Tuesday morning, The Fly reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $66.00 target price on the bank’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on CBU. Raymond James began coverage on Community Bank System in a report on Tuesday, December 20th. They issued a market perform rating on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Community Bank System from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $64.50.

Community Bank System Trading Up 4.9 %

Shares of NYSE:CBU opened at $54.06 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.62 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Community Bank System has a 1 year low of $48.99 and a 1 year high of $73.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $59.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.90.

Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.01. Community Bank System had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 26.77%. The company had revenue of $187.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Community Bank System will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Community Bank System Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Community Bank System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.87%.

Insider Activity at Community Bank System

In other news, Director Brian R. Ace sold 4,148 shares of Community Bank System stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.54, for a total value of $251,119.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 63,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,814,685.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Community Bank System

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CBU. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Community Bank System during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Community Bank System during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in Community Bank System by 80.4% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 487 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Community Bank System during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Community Bank System during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.78% of the company’s stock.

Community Bank System Company Profile

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Community Bank System, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of retail, business, and municipal banking services. It operates through the following segments: Banking, Employee Benefit Services, and All Other. The Banking segment offers an array of lending and depository-related products and services to individuals, businesses, and municipal enterprises.