Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 81,191 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 111% from the previous session’s volume of 38,459 shares.The stock last traded at $55.4370 and had previously closed at $56.96.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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 report 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 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Peoples Financial Services Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $54.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.69. The company has a market cap of $567.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last released its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $92.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.95 million. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 21.29%.

Peoples Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PFIS. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 429.7% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 33,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,647,000 after acquiring an additional 27,489 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Peoples Financial Services by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 298,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,563,000 after purchasing an additional 14,333 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Peoples Financial Services during the first quarter valued at approximately $467,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Peoples Financial Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $354,000. Finally, Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC grew 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 valued at $2,182,000 after purchasing an additional 7,159 shares in the last quarter. 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.