DA Davidson Has Positive Estimate for CBU FY2024 Earnings

Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) – Stock analysts at DA Davidson increased their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Community Bank System in a report issued on Thursday, December 19th. DA Davidson analyst M. Navas now forecasts that the bank will post earnings per share of $3.32 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $3.30. The consensus estimate for Community Bank System’s current full-year earnings is $3.39 per share.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler started coverage on Community Bank System in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Community Bank System from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Community Bank System from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $67.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Community Bank System presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.25.

Community Bank System Stock Performance

Shares of Community Bank System stock opened at $62.64 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Community Bank System has a 1 year low of $41.50 and a 1 year high of $73.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $65.50 and its 200 day moving average is $58.51.

Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $188.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.35 million. Community Bank System had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 18.82%. The company’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share.

Community Bank System Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Community Bank System’s payout ratio is currently 57.32%.

Insider Activity at Community Bank System

In related news, Director John F. Whipple sold 3,937 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.10, for a total value of $287,794.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $425,661.30. This trade represents a 40.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CBU. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Community Bank System by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,770,648 shares of the bank’s stock worth $83,588,000 after purchasing an additional 142,909 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Community Bank System by 164.9% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 213,167 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,064,000 after buying an additional 132,697 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Community Bank System by 151.8% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 127,227 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,388,000 after buying an additional 76,703 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Community Bank System by 99.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 109,647 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,367,000 after buying an additional 54,554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC grew its stake in shares of Community Bank System by 371.9% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 64,193 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,728,000 after acquiring an additional 50,590 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.79% of the company’s stock.

Community Bank 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.