Citizens Financial Services Inc. (NASDAQ:CZFS) Short Interest Up 19.3% in March

Key Points

• Short interest rose 19.3% to 49,941 shares as of March 31, implying a 4.2‑day days‑to‑cover based on average volume and about 1.1% of the float shorted.
• Citizens beat quarterly EPS estimates ($2.19 vs. $2.07), trades at a P/E of 8.67 with a $318M market cap, and pays a $0.50 quarterly dividend (3.0% yield, 26.2% payout ratio).
• Analyst coverage is mixed—average rating is "Moderate Buy" (one Strong Buy, two Holds)—and institutional investors own 22.49% of the stock, with several funds modestly increasing positions.

Citizens Financial Services Inc. (NASDAQ:CZFS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 49,941 shares, an increase of 19.3% from the March 15th total of 41,869 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 11,935 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.2 days. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CZFS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded Citizens Financial Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings restated 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 assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Services

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Services by 0.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 246,735 shares of the company's stock worth $14,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,987 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Services by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 110,866 shares of the company's stock worth $6,323,000 after acquiring an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Services by 1.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 28,344 shares of the company's stock worth $1,664,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Services by 6.5% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 24,419 shares of the company's stock worth $1,472,000 after acquiring an additional 1,496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $923,000. 22.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Financial Services Price Performance

CZFS stock traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $66.16. 739 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,801. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $62.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.85. The stock has a market cap of $318.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.67 and a beta of 0.39. Citizens Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $49.99 and a fifty-two week high of $69.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.12. Citizens Financial Services had a return on equity of 11.36% and a net margin of 21.08%.The firm had revenue of $29.61 million during the quarter. Research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Services will post 6.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Citizens Financial Services's payout ratio is 26.21%.

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.

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