Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 103,700 shares, an increase of 27.1% from the June 15th total of 81,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 20,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFIS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Hovde Group lowered their price target on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $48.00 to $43.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Peoples Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PFIS traded up $0.80 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $45.59. 32,278 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,712. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $321.87 million, a PE ratio of 13.98 and a beta of 0.52. Peoples Financial Services has a one year low of $36.26 and a one year high of $49.99. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.37.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $22.72 million during the quarter. Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 7.52%. Analysts anticipate that Peoples Financial Services will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were given a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. Peoples Financial Services’s payout ratio is 50.31%.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Financial Services

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PFIS. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Peoples Financial Services by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $182,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,394,000. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in Peoples Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $281,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Peoples Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $355,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 87.7% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,589 shares in the last quarter. 31.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.