Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $65.09 and last traded at $64.80, with a volume of 12893 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $64.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFIS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Peoples Financial Services in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Hovde Group raised their price objective on Peoples Financial Services from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.50.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Up 1.4%

The stock has a market cap of $651.80 million, a P/E ratio of 7.22 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $59.21 and its 200 day moving average is $54.89.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by ($0.11). The firm 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 was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.69%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of PFIS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 5.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 316,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,886,000 after acquiring an additional 17,655 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 73,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,595,000 after purchasing an additional 4,867 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 4,917 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 44,797 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,182,000 after purchasing an additional 7,159 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 36,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 4,460 shares during the period. 31.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.