Citizens Utilities declares 1.6% stock dividend for 1996 third quarter.

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 20, 1996--Citizens Utilities' Board of Directors today declared a 1.6% third-quarter stock dividend on the company's outstanding Series A and Series B common stock, payable September 30 to shareholders of record on September 3. The stock dividends are nontaxable on receipt.

Leonard Tow, chairman, stated that the stock dividend has a cash equivalent of 18 5/8 cents, representing an increase of 6% over the 1995 third-quarter adjusted stock dividend cash equivalent of 17 5/8 cents. Mr. Tow noted that stock dividends for the first three quarters of 1996 have a cash equivalent of 55 1/4 cents, which is 6% higher than the adjusted stock dividend cash equivalent of 52 1/4 cents for the corresponding period in 1995.

Mr. Tow also noted that the stock dividend rates for the first three quarters of 1996 totalled 4.8%, compared with 4.6% for the 1995 corresponding period.

Citizens Utilities (NYSE: CZNA, CZNB) is a diversified growth company providing telecommunications, energy and water and wastewater treatment services to approximately 1.75 million customers in 20 states. Citizens has a significant investment in Centennial Cellular Corp., a cellular telephone company, and owns Electric Lightwave, Inc., a competitive telecommunications services provider with operations in five major metropolitan areas in the western United States. Through Citizens Telecom, the 15th largest telecommunications company in the nation, Citizens provides local, long distance, cellular, paging and other services.

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