Harbor Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU)

Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,058 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Community Bank System during the 2nd quarter valued at about $76,000. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 347 shares during the period. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Community Bank System by 27.5% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Finally, IFG Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Community Bank System during the second quarter worth $212,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Community Bank System

In other news, Director John F. Whipple sold 3,937 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.10, for a total value of $287,794.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $425,661.30. This represents a 40.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.78% of the company’s stock.

Community Bank System Stock Performance

Community Bank System stock opened at $69.13 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.61. Community Bank System, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.50 and a 1-year high of $73.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of 21.53 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Community Bank System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Community Bank System’s payout ratio is 57.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CBU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James raised 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Community Bank System in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th.

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.