Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $60.82 and last traded at $60.8650, with a volume of 50164 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $59.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on PFIS. 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. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.50.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Up 1.5%

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’s 50-day moving average is $57.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.62. The stock has a market cap of $604.76 million, a P/E ratio of 6.69 and a beta of 0.77.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.54 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $92.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.95 million. Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 21.29% and a return on equity of 18.06%.

Peoples Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Peoples Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 27.69%.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Financial Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 116.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 2,968 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 55,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,976,000 after acquiring an additional 4,917 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 41.2% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 16,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $873,000 after acquiring an additional 4,774 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 316,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,886,000 after acquiring an additional 17,655 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp bought a new stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at $267,000. Institutional investors own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

About Peoples Financial Services

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.