Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS) Upgraded to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research firms have also commented on CZFS. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Citizens Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Zacks Research cut shares of Citizens Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Citizens Financial Services Price Performance

CZFS opened at $84.87 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $81.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.31. Citizens Financial Services has a 12-month low of $53.14 and a 12-month high of $88.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $408.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 0.38.

Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $31.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.00 million. Citizens Financial Services had a return on equity of 12.46% and a net margin of 23.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Citizens Financial Services will post 9.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. Citizens Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Citizens Financial Services by 127.7% in the first 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. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Citizens Financial Services by 429.2% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 721 shares during the last quarter. Hudock Inc. increased its stake in Citizens Financial Services by 1.9% in the third quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 79,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,258,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens & Northern Corp raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Services by 1.5% during the third quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 118,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,797 shares in the last quarter. 22.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Citizens Financial Services

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

The bank offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, residential mortgages, business banking, cash-management services, online and mobile banking, wealth management and trust services. Its lending activities include real estate, agricultural, commercial and consumer loans.

Founded in 1932, First Citizens Community Bank serves communities in central and northern Pennsylvania and southern New York through branch locations and digital banking channels.