Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $57.71 and last traded at $56.9350, with a volume of 7297 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PFIS. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Peoples Financial Services in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Hovde Group reduced their price target on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Peoples Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Peoples Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $557.99 million, a P/E ratio of 6.18 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a fifty day moving average of $51.77 and a 200 day moving average of $50.09.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.16). Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 21.50% and a return on equity of 18.84%. The firm had revenue of $89.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.25 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This is an increase from Peoples Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.29%.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Financial Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services during the second quarter valued at $1,993,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 429.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 33,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,647,000 after buying an additional 27,489 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 14,333 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 5.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 231,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,430,000 after buying an additional 12,447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fourthstone LLC acquired a new position in shares of Peoples Financial Services in the second quarter worth about $568,000. 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.