Zacks Research Upgrades Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS) to “Strong-Buy”

Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings lowered Citizens Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Citizens Financial Services Stock Up 2.3%

Citizens Financial Services stock opened at $74.13 on Tuesday. Citizens Financial Services has a twelve month low of $49.99 and a twelve month high of $74.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $355.82 million, a PE ratio of 9.05 and a beta of 0.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $66.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.55.

Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.18. Citizens Financial Services had a net margin of 22.47% and a return on equity of 11.89%. The company had revenue of $29.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.10 million. On average, research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Services will post 8.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Citizens Financial Services

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CZFS. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its position in Citizens Financial Services by 28.2% in the first quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 20,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,266,000 after acquiring an additional 4,553 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Services by 69.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Services by 127.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Services by 35.5% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 13,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $847,000 after purchasing an additional 3,626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Services by 16.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 28,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,748,000 after purchasing an additional 4,115 shares in the last quarter. 22.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Financial Services Company Profile

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.