Citizens Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZFS) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Citizens Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZFS) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 41,500 shares, a growth of 23.1% from the November 30th total of 33,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 20,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Citizens Financial Services

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Services by 177.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 4,655 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Citizens Financial Services by 286.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,924 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 4,390 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Services by 22.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,068,000 after acquiring an additional 4,369 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Services by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,234,000 after acquiring an additional 1,588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Services by 1.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,017,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 22.49% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Services Price Performance

NASDAQ CZFS traded up $1.10 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $65.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 450 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,083. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Citizens Financial Services has a 1 year low of $38.52 and a 1 year high of $75.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $66.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.18. The company has a market capitalization of $309.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 0.53.

Citizens Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. Citizens Financial Services’s payout ratio is 33.85%.

About Citizens Financial Services

Citizens Financial Services, Inc, a bank holding company, provides various banking products and services for individual, business, governmental, and institutional customers. The company accepts various deposit products, such as checking, savings, and time deposit accounts. Its loan products include residential, commercial, and agricultural real estate loans; commercial and industrial loans; state and political subdivision loans; and consumer loans, as well as various other specialized financial services.