Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Up 1.1 %

Peoples Financial Services stock opened at $47.94 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $478.44 million, a P/E ratio of 19.89 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Peoples Financial Services has a twelve month low of $36.26 and a twelve month high of $51.00.

Peoples Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.618 dividend. This represents a $2.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 102.49%.

Insider Activity at Peoples Financial Services

In other Peoples Financial Services news, Director Richard S. Lochen, Jr. bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $43.90 per share, with a total value of $43,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 15,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $682,864.50. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the third quarter valued at $149,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 87.7% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after acquiring an additional 1,589 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 2.6% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 8,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 46.7% in the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 10,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 3,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 14.5% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 12,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 1,576 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

About Peoples Financial Services

Peoples Financial Services Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Peoples Security Bank and Trust Company that provides various commercial and retail banking services. The company accepts money market, negotiable order of withdrawal, savings, individual retirement, demand deposit, and certificates of deposit accounts.