Ausbil Investment Management Reduces Stake in Community Bank System, Inc.

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd has reduced its stake in Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) by 45.1% during the fourth quarter, as per the latest 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. After selling 13,781 shares, the fund now holds 16,771 shares of the bank's stock, which is valued at approximately $1,039,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also adjusted their investments in CBU. For instance, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Community Bank System by 99.2% in the fourth quarter, now owning 478 shares valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares. KBC Group NV also raised its investment by 23.6% in the third quarter, now holding 1,816 shares worth $105,000 after buying 347 additional shares. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its position by 51.0% during the same period, owning 2,360 shares valued at $137,000 with an acquisition of 797 shares. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake worth around $141,000, and Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. acquired a new position valued at $207,000. Currently, institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 73.79% of Community Bank System's stock.

Insider Transactions at Community Bank System

In related news, there have been several insider transactions at Community Bank System. Director John F. Whipple sold 3,937 shares of the company's stock on November 25th, at an average price of $73.10, amounting to a total of $287,794.70. Post-sale, the director holds 5,823 shares valued at approximately $425,661.30, marking a 40.34% decrease in his position. This transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Furthermore, SVP Jeffrey M. Levy sold 1,136 shares on January 24th at an average price of $65.98—a transaction totaling $74,953.28—which resulted in him retaining 6,539 shares valued at around $431,443.22, a 14.80% decrease in his position. Insiders currently own about 1.89% of the company's stock.

Stock Performance of Community Bank System

Community Bank System, Inc. shares (CBU) opened at $65.53 on recent trading days. The stock has seen a 1-year low of $41.50 and a high of $73.39. With a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, the stock has a P/E ratio of 19.05 and a beta of 0.67. The 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages are $64.68 and $61.94, respectively. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42 and a current and quick ratio both at 0.76.

Community Bank System last reported its quarterly earnings on January 21st, revealing earnings per share (EPS) of $0.94, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.04. The company generated revenue of $196.30 million, surpassing the projected $190.95 million. The bank achieved a net margin of 19.40% and a return on equity of 10.94%. Compared to the same quarter last year, the firm's revenue increased by 10.8%. Analysts forecast that Community Bank System, Inc. will post an EPS of 4.16 for the current fiscal year.

Dividend Announcement by Community Bank System

The company has also recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, which will be paid on April 10th. The record date is set for March 14th, with the annualized dividend reaching $1.84, resulting in a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is March 14th, and the company's payout ratio stands at 53.49%.

Analysts Offer Price Targets

Community Bank System has been under the microscope of research analysts lately. Raymond James upgraded their rating from "market perform" to "strong-buy," setting a target price of $67.00 in a report issued on October 28th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Community Bank and assigned a "neutral" rating with a price target of $70.00. Meanwhile, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price from $74.00 to $76.00, maintaining a "market perform" rating in a report released on January 22nd.

Overview of Community Bank System, Inc.

Community Bank System, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Community Bank, N.A., providing various banking and financial services to retail, commercial, institutional, and municipal clients. Their operations are divided into three main segments: Banking, Employee Benefit Services, and All Other, offering a wide range of deposit products including interest and noninterest-bearing checking accounts, savings, money market deposit accounts, and time deposits.

Investment, Stocks, Insider