Short Interest in Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) Rises By 19.9%

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) saw a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 88,500 shares, a growth of 19.9% from the March 15th total of 73,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 26,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PFIS opened at $42.00 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $45.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Peoples Financial Services has a 12 month low of $37.07 and a 12 month high of $59.70. The company has a market cap of $419.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.87 and a beta of 0.57.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.17). Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 8.97% and a net margin of 3.70%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Peoples Financial Services will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Peoples Financial Services Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.6175 dividend. This represents a $2.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 218.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Richard S. Lochen, Jr. bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $47.12 per share, for a total transaction of $47,120.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $807,118.48. The trade was a 6.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new position in Peoples Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth about $126,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Peoples Financial Services by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $198,000 after acquiring an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth $239,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 5,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. 31.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.