Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.11 EPS

Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.11, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $27.79 million during the quarter. Citizens Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.91% and a net margin of 19.80%.

Citizens Financial Services Stock Up 1.1%

NASDAQ CZFS opened at $61.83 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $297.40 million, a P/E ratio of 8.67 and a beta of 0.41. Citizens Financial Services has a 52 week low of $49.96 and a 52 week high of $69.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.63 and a 200-day moving average of $58.53.

Citizens Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. Citizens Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.05%.

Insider Transactions at Citizens Financial Services

In other news, CEO Randall E. Black acquired 478 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $54.10 per share, for a total transaction of $25,859.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 44,013 shares in the company, valued at $2,381,103.30. This trade represents a 1.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders bought a total of 516 shares of company stock valued at $27,903 in the last quarter. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Services

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Services by 39.4% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Services by 537.3% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 1,123 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Services by 3,225.0% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Services in the second quarter valued at about $124,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $217,000. 22.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Citizens Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy”.

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.