Citigroup Inc. Increases Stake in Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU)

Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 96,742 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 8,356 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Community Bank System were worth $5,618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Community Bank System by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 26,600 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,256,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Community Bank System by 4.5% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,895 shares of the bank’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Community Bank System by 1.8% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,930 shares of the bank’s stock worth $705,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Community Bank System by 6.2% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,235 shares of the bank’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in Community Bank System by 23.6% during 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 in the last quarter. 73.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John F. Whipple sold 3,937 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $425,661.30. This represents a 40.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.89% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CBU shares. 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 for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Community Bank System in a report on Tuesday, September 10th.

Community Bank System Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CBU opened at $69.23 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $62.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.46. Community Bank System, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.50 and a fifty-two week high of $73.39.

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

Community Bank System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid 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 2.66%. Community Bank System’s dividend payout ratio is 57.32%.

Community Bank System 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.