Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS) Trading Up 1.9% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares rose 1.9% intraday to about $68.08 (high $68.94) on Monday despite trading volume roughly 24% below average.
• Earnings beat and solid fundamentals: CZFS reported $2.19 EPS vs. $2.07 expected, with a market cap of $327.5M, a P/E of 8.92, 11.36% ROE and an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Dividend and institutional interest: The company pays a $0.50 quarterly dividend ($2.00 annualized, 2.9% yield, 26.2% payout ratio) while several institutions materially increased their stakes, leaving institutions with 22.49% ownership.

Citizens Financial Services Inc. (NASDAQ:CZFS - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 1.9% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $68.94 and last traded at $68.08. Approximately 7,329 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 24% from the average daily volume of 9,632 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.78.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on CZFS shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Citizens Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research cut shares of Citizens Financial Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Citizens Financial Services Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $327.46 million, a P/E ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $62.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.74.

Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $29.61 million for the quarter. Citizens Financial Services had a return on equity of 11.36% and a net margin of 21.08%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Services Inc. will post 6.4 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, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Citizens Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Citizens Financial Services by 118.4% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 13,206 shares of the company's stock worth $753,000 after acquiring an additional 7,158 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in Citizens Financial Services by 71.7% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 10,614 shares of the company's stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 4,432 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Services by 93.5% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 447 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Services by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,375 shares of the company's stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $422,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 22.49% of the company's stock.

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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