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 company had revenue of $27.79 million for the quarter. Citizens Financial Services had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 21.08%.

Citizens Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of CZFS opened at $63.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Citizens Financial Services has a 12 month low of $49.96 and a 12 month high of $69.30. The company has a market capitalization of $304.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.29 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $59.76 and a 200 day moving average of $58.54.

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 given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis 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 presently 26.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Randall E. Black bought 478 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $54.10 per share, with a total value of $25,859.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 44,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,381,103.30. This trade represents a 1.10% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have acquired a total of 516 shares of company stock valued at $27,903 in the last quarter. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CZFS. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Services by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 246,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,987 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Services by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 106,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,246,000 after buying an additional 1,681 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Services by 1.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 28,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,664,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Services by 6.5% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 24,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,472,000 after purchasing an additional 1,496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Services by 25.4% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 6,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 22.49% of the company’s stock.

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.