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

Shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 31,518 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 29% from the previous session’s volume of 44,205 shares.The stock last traded at $63.3370 and had previously closed at $63.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFIS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Peoples Financial Services in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Hovde Group increased their price objective on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.50.

Peoples Financial Services Trading Down 1.7%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $58.31 and a 200-day moving average of $54.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $624.81 million, a P/E ratio of 6.91 and a beta of 0.77.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 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 firm had revenue of $92.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.69%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 1,338.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 59.1% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. 31.67% of the stock is currently owned by 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.