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

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

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

Citizens Financial Services Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:CZFS opened at $74.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $355.82 million, a P/E ratio of 9.05 and a beta of 0.36. Citizens Financial Services has a 1 year low of $49.99 and a 1 year 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.

Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $29.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.10 million. Equities analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Services will post 8.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from Citizens Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Citizens Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.91%.

Institutional Trading of Citizens Financial Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CZFS. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $923,000. Lawood & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $612,000. Bailard Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $413,000. Strs Ohio grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Services by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 6,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Services by 12.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. 22.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.