ChoiceOne Financial Services (NASDAQ:COFS) Upgraded to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services (NASDAQ:COFS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Sunday morning.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on COFS. Zacks Research raised ChoiceOne Financial Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

ChoiceOne Financial Services Trading Down 5.5%

ChoiceOne Financial Services stock opened at $30.47 on Friday. ChoiceOne Financial Services has a 52-week low of $24.89 and a 52-week high of $36.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $457.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.24 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $29.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.58.

ChoiceOne Financial Services (NASDAQ:COFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 8th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $20.17 million for the quarter. ChoiceOne Financial Services had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 11.52%. Sell-side analysts expect that ChoiceOne Financial Services will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

ChoiceOne Financial Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. This is a positive change from ChoiceOne Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. ChoiceOne Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 84.67%.

Insider Transactions at ChoiceOne Financial Services

In other ChoiceOne Financial Services news, Director Eric E. Burrough purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.50 per share, for a total transaction of $142,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 174,833 shares in the company, valued at $4,982,740.50. The trade was a 2.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 5.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ChoiceOne Financial Services

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in COFS. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in ChoiceOne Financial Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,973,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services by 70.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 324,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,307,000 after buying an additional 133,999 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services by 149.9% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Asset Management LLC now owns 156,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,493,000 after acquiring an additional 93,659 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services by 204.2% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 97,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,837,000 after acquiring an additional 65,764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of ChoiceOne Financial Services by 427.1% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 50,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,477,000 after acquiring an additional 41,317 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.90% of the company’s stock.

About ChoiceOne Financial Services

ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Jackson, Michigan. Through its subsidiary, ChoiceOne Bank, it provides a full suite of banking and financial services to individuals, families, and businesses. The company’s primary operations are concentrated in community banking, spanning retail deposits, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage origination, and treasury management solutions.

ChoiceOne Bank offers checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and online and mobile banking platforms designed to meet the needs of its customers.