Short Interest in Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) Increases By 5.9%

Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,250,000 shares, a growth of 5.9% from the October 31st total of 1,180,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 257,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.9 days. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James upgraded Community Bank System from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $67.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated 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.

Insider Transactions at Community Bank System

In other news, Director John F. Whipple sold 3,937 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.10, for a total transaction of $287,794.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $425,661.30. The trade was a 40.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Community Bank System

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CBU. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 142,909 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Community Bank System by 164.9% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 213,167 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,064,000 after purchasing an additional 132,697 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Community Bank System by 152.9% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 182,397 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,611,000 after purchasing an additional 110,288 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in Community Bank System by 151.8% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 127,227 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,388,000 after purchasing an additional 76,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in Community Bank System by 99.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 109,647 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,367,000 after purchasing an additional 54,554 shares during the last quarter. 73.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Community Bank System Price Performance

CBU stock traded down $0.29 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $67.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 13,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 279,033. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company’s fifty day moving average is $63.22 and its 200-day moving average is $56.75. The company has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.19 and a beta of 0.65. Community Bank System has a 1 year low of $41.50 and a 1 year high of $73.39.

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

Community Bank System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given 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 dividend yield of 2.72%. Community Bank System’s dividend payout ratio is 57.32%.

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.