BlackRock Inc. Acquires Shares of 354,551 Citizens Financial Services Inc. $CZFS

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 354,551 shares of Citizens Financial Services in the second quarter, worth approximately $25.7 million and representing about 7.39% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 22.49% of CZFS.
• Citizens Financial Services reported quarterly EPS of $2.12, beating estimates of $1.98, while revenue of $29.71 million also exceeded expectations. Analysts project full-year EPS of $8.72.
• CZFS shares rose 3.4% to $82.60, near their 52-week high of $84.35. Despite mixed analyst actions, the stock holds a consensus “Buy” rating.

BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Citizens Financial Services Inc. (NASDAQ:CZFS - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 354,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,684,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 7.39% of Citizens Financial Services as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Services in the second quarter worth approximately $327,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,186,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Services by 28.2% in the 1st quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 20,701 shares of the company's stock worth $1,266,000 after acquiring an additional 4,553 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Services by 69.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,017 shares of the company's stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 3,280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Services by 127.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,018 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 22.49% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Services Trading Up 3.4%

Shares of Citizens Financial Services stock opened at $82.60 on Thursday. Citizens Financial Services Inc. has a 1-year low of $52.35 and a 1-year high of $84.35. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $76.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $397.31 million, a PE ratio of 9.66 and a beta of 0.36.

Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.14. Citizens Financial Services had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 23.31%.The firm had revenue of $29.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.30 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Services Inc. will post 8.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on CZFS. Weiss Ratings upgraded Citizens Financial Services from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Zacks Research cut Citizens Financial Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Citizens Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Citizens Financial Services 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.

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