Benjamin Edwards Inc. Purchases 741 Shares of Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) by 27.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,436 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 741 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Community Bank System were worth $162,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Community Bank System during the first quarter valued at approximately $592,000. Trexquant Investment LP raised its position in shares of Community Bank System by 466.5% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 31,816 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,658,000 after acquiring an additional 26,200 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Community Bank System by 152.9% during the 2nd 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. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Community Bank System during the first quarter valued at about $583,000. Finally, Boston Partners purchased a new position in Community Bank System in the first quarter valued at about $3,558,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.79% of the company’s stock.

Community Bank System Stock Performance

Shares of Community Bank System stock opened at $58.75 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $58.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.47 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Community Bank System, Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.38 and a 52 week high of $63.95.

Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.14. Community Bank System had a net margin of 15.90% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The business had revenue of $183.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Community Bank System, Inc. will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Community Bank System Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This is a positive change from Community Bank System’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Community Bank System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James cut shares of Community Bank System from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $59.00 price target on shares of Community Bank System in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Community Bank System presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.50.

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.