Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU) Shares Down 4.8% on Disappointing Earnings

Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) traded down 4.8% on Tuesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $55.92 and last traded at $56.02. 74,060 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 282,302 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.85.

The bank reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $188.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.35 million. Community Bank System had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 15.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share.

Community Bank System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. Community Bank System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CBU has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James downgraded shares of Community Bank System from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Community Bank System in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Community Bank System has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Community Bank System

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Community Bank System by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,596,018 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $343,718,000 after acquiring an additional 43,001 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Community Bank System by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,770,648 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $83,588,000 after purchasing an additional 142,909 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Community Bank System by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 691,879 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,664,000 after buying an additional 44,137 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Community Bank System by 164.9% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 213,167 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,064,000 after buying an additional 132,697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Community Bank System by 152.9% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 182,397 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,611,000 after buying an additional 110,288 shares during the period. 73.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Community Bank System Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $58.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.29 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

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.