Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS) Stock Price Up 0.7% – Time to Buy?

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CZFS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Citizens Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Citizens Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Citizens Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy”.

Citizens Financial Services Trading Up 2.2%

The firm has a market cap of $389.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.46 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $80.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.55.

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

Citizens Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Citizens Financial Services’s payout ratio is 23.86%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CZFS. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,684,000. Hudock Inc. lifted its holdings in Citizens Financial Services by 91.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 78,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,657,000 after purchasing an additional 37,305 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Services by 16.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 28,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,748,000 after purchasing an additional 4,115 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its position in shares of Citizens Financial Services by 28.2% in the first quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 20,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,266,000 after purchasing an additional 4,553 shares during the period. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth $1,480,000. Institutional investors own 22.49% of the company’s stock.

About Citizens Financial Services

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.