Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Hold”

Zacks Research lowered shares of Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Citizens Financial Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Citizens Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CZFS traded down $2.01 during trading on Monday, reaching $63.36. 8,629 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,696. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $304.74 million, a P/E ratio of 8.32 and a beta of 0.42. Citizens Financial Services has a 52-week low of $49.96 and a 52-week high of $69.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $61.19 and a 200-day moving average of $58.83.

Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.11. Citizens Financial Services had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 21.08%.The business had revenue of $27.79 million for the quarter. Analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Services will post 6.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 26th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. Citizens Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 26.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens Financial Services

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Services by 39.4% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its position in Citizens Financial Services by 82.0% during the 2nd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Services by 537.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Services by 14,530.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Services by 3,225.0% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419 shares during the period. 22.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.