Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Significantly Increases Stake in Community Bank System, Inc.

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd has made a substantial increase in its stake in Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU - Free Report), boosting its ownership by 494.7% during the third quarter, as reported in its latest Form 13F filed with the SEC. Following its investment, Ausbil owned a total of 30,552 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 25,415 shares during this period. The firm’s ownership represents approximately 0.06% of Community Bank System with a value of $1.77 million based on the most recent filing.

Recently, several other large institutional investors have also traded shares of Community Bank System. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake by 8.8% during the second quarter, now owning 1,770,648 shares, valued at $83.58 million after buying 142,909 additional shares last quarter. Similarly, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position by 164.9% in the same quarter, ending up with 213,167 shares valued at $10.06 million after purchasing 132,697 additional shares. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. also raised its investment by 152.9%, acquiring 110,288 additional shares and now owns 182,397 shares worth $8.61 million. Other notable investors include Boston Partners and Waterford Advisors LLC, who made new acquisitions worth approximately $3.56 million and $2.16 million, respectively, in the first quarter. Currently, institutional investors and hedge funds own about 73.79% of Community Bank System's stocks.

Community Bank System Stock Performance

As of Thursday's trading session, shares of Community Bank System (CBU) were down by $0.68, bringing the stock price to $57.44, with a trading volume of 28,380 shares, compared to the average volume of 281,511. The company has a fifty-day moving average of $58.91 and a 200-day moving average of $52.34. Financial health indicators show a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The overall market cap of Community Bank System is $3.03 billion, with a price to earnings (PE) ratio of 18.29 and a beta of 0.64. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has seen prices range from a low of $36.42 to a high of $63.95.

Community Bank System recently reported its quarterly earnings on October 22nd. The bank posted earnings of $0.83 per share, which fell short of the consensus estimate of $0.88, missing it by $0.05. The company achieved a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 15.90%. Revenue for the quarter was $188.94 million, slightly exceeding analysts' expectations of $186.35 million. Comparatively, during the same quarter last year, the earnings per share were $0.82, representing a year-over-year revenue growth of 7.7%. Research analysts predict that Community Bank System, Inc. will report 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Community Bank System Dividend Announcement

Additionally, Community Bank System announced a quarterly dividend that is set to be paid on January 10th. Stockholders who hold shares as of December 13th will receive a dividend of $0.46 per share. Annually, this amounts to a dividend of $1.84, providing a dividend yield of 3.20%. The company’s payout ratio stands at 57.86%.

Analyst Ratings

Recent evaluations by research analysts indicate mixed ratings for Community Bank System. Raymond James downgraded its rating from "outperform" to "market perform" in a note dated July 24th. Conversely, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods maintained a "market perform" rating and established a price target of $59.00 for shares on September 10th. Currently, the stock has received two ratings for sell and three holds from different analysts. MarketBeat data suggests that the stock currently holds an average rating of "Hold" with a consensus price target of $50.50.

Community Bank System Overview

Community Bank System, Inc. serves as the bank holding company for Community Bank, N.A., providing a variety of banking and financial services to retail, commercial, institutional, and municipal clients. The company operates through three segments: Banking, Employee Benefit Services, and All Other, offering a range of deposit products like interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing checking accounts, savings, money market accounts, and time deposits.

Conclusion: The significant increase of Ausbil Investment Management Ltd's stake highlights growing institutional interest in Community Bank System. Investors and analysts will continue to closely monitor the bank's financial performance and market movements.

investment, banking, stake