Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s Why

Shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 67,311 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 95% from the previous session’s volume of 34,597 shares.The stock last traded at $58.0820 and had previously closed at $58.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFIS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Peoples Financial Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Peoples Financial Services Trading Down 1.4%

The business has a fifty day moving average of $54.70 and a 200-day moving average of $51.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $574.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.34 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $89.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.25 million. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 21.50%.

Peoples Financial Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This is an increase from Peoples Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PFIS. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 44.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $364,000 after acquiring an additional 2,538 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 40,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 2,679 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth about $467,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 13,842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. 31.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Peoples Financial Services

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.