Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $73.00 and last traded at $72.55, with a volume of 1901 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CBU has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Community Bank System in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Raymond James raised Community Bank System from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $67.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th.

Community Bank System Stock Up 2.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.67.

Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.05). Community Bank System had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 18.82%. The company had revenue of $188.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. Community Bank System’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Community Bank System, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Community Bank System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. Community Bank System’s payout ratio is currently 57.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Community Bank System

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Community Bank System in the 2nd quarter valued at $76,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in Community Bank System by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,816 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Community Bank System by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the bank’s stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Community Bank System by 27.5% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 3,436 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares during the period. Finally, IFG Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Community Bank System during the second quarter worth approximately $212,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.79% of the company’s stock.

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.