Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 50,784 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 23% from the previous session’s volume of 41,125 shares.The stock last traded at $56.6770 and had previously closed at $57.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFIS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Hovde Group upped their price objective on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Stephens boosted their target price on Peoples Financial Services from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Peoples Financial Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Peoples Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.50.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $570.72 million, a PE ratio of 6.30 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $55.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.12.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.54 by ($0.11). Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 21.29% and a return on equity of 18.21%. The firm had revenue of $92.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.95 million.

Peoples Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Peoples Financial Services by 59.1% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $707,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the period. 31.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Peoples Financial Services Company Profile

Peoples Financial Services Corporation is the bank holding company for PeoplesBank, a community-focused commercial bank headquartered in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, PeoplesBank, PFIS offers a full suite of banking services to individuals, small businesses, and commercial clients. These services include deposit accounts, consumer and residential mortgage lending, commercial and industrial lending, and treasury management solutions.

Founded in 1842, PeoplesBank has grown organically and through selective acquisitions to become a prominent community bank in Western Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut.