Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Sees Large Volume Increase – Time to Buy?

Shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 20,902 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 16% from the previous session’s volume of 18,092 shares.The stock last traded at $50.7550 and had previously closed at $49.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PFIS shares. Stephens set a $50.00 target price on Peoples Financial Services and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Peoples Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Hovde Group decreased their target price on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Peoples Financial Services in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Peoples Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.00.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.61. The company has a market cap of $511.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.04 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $3.19. The company had revenue of $65.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.00 million. Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 20.17% and a return on equity of 18.32%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 5.92 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 1,338.3% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 434.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Peoples Financial Services by 59.1% in the second 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 period. 31.67% of the stock is currently 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.