Citizens & Northern Co. (NASDAQ:CZNC) Short Interest Down 8.9% in July

Citizens & Northern Co. (NASDAQ:CZNC) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 73,000 shares, a decline of 8.9% from the July 15th total of 80,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 27,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days. Approximately 0.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Citizens & Northern Stock Performance

NASDAQ CZNC traded up $0.34 during trading on Monday, hitting $19.62. 10,404 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 26,004. The stock has a market capitalization of $301.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The business has a 50 day moving average of $18.39 and a 200-day moving average of $18.19. Citizens & Northern has a 12-month low of $16.50 and a 12-month high of $23.50.

Citizens & Northern (NASDAQ:CZNC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $27.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.90 million. Citizens & Northern had a net margin of 16.20% and a return on equity of 9.17%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Citizens & Northern will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens & Northern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.71%. Citizens & Northern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Citizens & Northern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Citizens & Northern news, Director Terry L. Lehman bought 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $17.00 per share, with a total value of $25,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $434,639. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 1,976 shares of company stock valued at $33,613. Insiders own 3.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Citizens & Northern

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in Citizens & Northern by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 5,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens & Northern by 82.6% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $143,000 after acquiring an additional 3,440 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Citizens & Northern by 4.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 98,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,768,000 after acquiring an additional 4,173 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Citizens & Northern in the second quarter valued at $187,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Citizens & Northern by 1.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 742,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,941,000 after purchasing an additional 13,488 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 30.83% of the company’s stock.

Citizens & Northern Company Profile

Citizens & Northern Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Citizens & Northern Bank that provides various banking and related services to individual and corporate customers. Its deposit products include various types of checking accounts, passbook and statement savings, money market accounts, interest checking accounts, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit; and lending products, including commercial, mortgage, and consumer loans, as well as specialized instruments, such as commercial letters-of-credit.