Short Interest in Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) Increases By 12.1%

Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,200,000 shares, a growth of 12.1% from the September 30th total of 1,070,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 253,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.7 days. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Community Bank System Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of CBU traded down $0.63 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $61.18. 491,505 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 282,753. Community Bank System has a fifty-two week low of $39.05 and a fifty-two week high of $63.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The business has a 50-day moving average of $58.99 and a 200-day moving average of $52.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19 and a beta of 0.64.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.05). Community Bank System had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 15.90%. The firm had revenue of $188.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Community Bank System will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Community Bank System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Community Bank System’s payout ratio is 57.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Community Bank System

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Community Bank System in the second quarter worth $76,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in Community Bank System by 27.5% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 3,436 shares of the bank’s stock worth $162,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Community Bank System in the second quarter worth $212,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 period. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Community Bank System in the second quarter worth $231,000. 73.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Community Bank System in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th.

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.