Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS) Shares Climb 0.7% – Time to Buy?

Citizens Financial Services Inc. (NASDAQ:CZFS) shares were up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $79.19 and last traded at $79.14. 34,193 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 8% from the average daily volume of 37,338 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.61.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Citizens Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Zacks Research cut Citizens Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Citizens Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Citizens Financial Services Stock Up 0.7%

The business’s 50-day moving average is $80.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $380.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.26 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $29.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.30 million. Citizens Financial Services had a net margin of 23.31% and a return on equity of 12.06%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Services Inc. will post 8.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. Citizens Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.86%.

Institutional Trading of Citizens Financial Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,684,000. Hudock Inc. lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Services by 91.5% in the second quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 78,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,657,000 after buying an additional 37,305 shares during the last quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP bought a new position in Citizens Financial Services during the second quarter worth $1,480,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,186,000. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Services during the second quarter worth approximately $565,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 22.49% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Services Company Profile

Citizens Financial Services, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Mansfield, Pennsylvania. It operates primarily through its subsidiary, First Citizens Community Bank, which provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and organizations.

First Citizens Community Bank offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, mortgages, home equity financing, agricultural lending, cash-management services and other business banking solutions. The bank also provides wealth management, trust and investment services, along with insurance and related financial products through its community banking platform.

The company traces its banking operations to 1932 and serves communities in north-central Pennsylvania and neighboring areas of southern New York through branches and other delivery channels.