Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Shares Pass Below 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS)’s stock price passed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $48.30 and traded as low as $48.17. Peoples Financial Services shares last traded at $48.51, with a volume of 16,654 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on PFIS. StockNews.com upgraded Peoples Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Hovde Group upped their price target on Peoples Financial Services from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Stephens raised Peoples Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Down 0.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $484.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.10 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.30.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.56. Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 7.73%. The company had revenue of $74.01 million for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts predict that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.618 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $2.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.10%. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 239.81%.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Financial Services

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the third quarter valued at $149,000. RBF Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Peoples Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth $342,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 2.6% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 8,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 12,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,576 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 304.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 12,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $576,000 after buying an additional 9,239 shares during the last quarter. 31.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Peoples Financial Services

Peoples Financial Services Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Peoples Security Bank and Trust Company that provides various commercial and retail banking services. The company accepts money market, negotiable order of withdrawal, savings, individual retirement, demand deposit, and certificates of deposit accounts.