Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 66,275 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 55% from the previous session’s volume of 42,626 shares.The stock last traded at $57.30 and had previously closed at $57.80.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFIS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Hovde Group increased their price target on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of 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 shares of Peoples Financial Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Peoples Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.50.

Peoples Financial Services Trading Up 0.0%

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $578.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.40 and a beta of 0.77.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by ($0.11). Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 21.29% and a return on equity of 18.06%. The business had revenue of $92.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.95 million.

Peoples Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Peoples Financial Services’s payout ratio is 27.69%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 5.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 316,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,886,000 after buying an additional 17,655 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 73,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,595,000 after purchasing an additional 4,867 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 9.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 55,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,976,000 after purchasing an additional 4,917 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Peoples Financial Services by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 44,797 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,182,000 after buying an additional 7,159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in Peoples Financial Services by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 36,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,783,000 after buying an additional 4,460 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 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.