Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on CZFS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded Citizens Financial Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Citizens Financial Services Trading Down 3.2%

NASDAQ:CZFS opened at $62.70 on Monday. Citizens Financial Services has a 12-month low of $49.96 and a 12-month high of $69.30. The firm has a market cap of $301.34 million, a PE ratio of 8.22 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $61.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.86.

Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.11. Citizens Financial Services had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 21.08%.The business had revenue of $27.79 million during the quarter. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Services will post 6.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 26th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Citizens Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.21%.

Institutional Trading of Citizens Financial Services

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Services in the first quarter worth about $249,000. Citizens & Northern Corp lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Services by 1.0% during the second quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 117,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,875,000 after purchasing an additional 1,159 shares during the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Services by 82.0% during the second quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC grew its stake in Citizens Financial Services by 14.2% in the second quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 6,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Citizens Financial Services by 1.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 106,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,246,000 after buying an additional 1,681 shares during the last quarter. 22.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Citizens Financial Services

Citizens Financial Services, Inc (NASDAQ:CZFS) is a bank holding company headquartered in Elderton, Pennsylvania, providing a range of retail and commercial banking services through its primary subsidiary, Citizens Savings Bank. The company offers deposit products such as checking and savings accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, supported by online and mobile banking platforms tailored to personal and business clients.

Beyond deposit-taking, Citizens Financial Services underwrites a variety of lending products, including residential mortgage loans, home equity financing, commercial real estate loans, construction lending and consumer installment loans.