Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) Director Ronald G. Kukuchka Buys 482 Shares

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) Director Ronald G. Kukuchka purchased 482 shares of Peoples Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $49.37 per share, for a total transaction of $23,796.34. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 32,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,595,243.44. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Performance

PFIS traded down $2.72 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $46.95. The company had a trading volume of 5,468 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,054. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The business has a 50-day moving average of $42.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.56. The company has a market cap of $331.47 million, a P/E ratio of 15.24 and a beta of 0.52. Peoples Financial Services Corp. has a 1 year low of $36.26 and a 1 year high of $51.00.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $41.92 million for the quarter. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.95% and a net margin of 10.07%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a $0.618 dividend. This is an increase from Peoples Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.27%. Peoples Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 50.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 8,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $182,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted 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 worth $147,000 after buying an additional 1,589 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 26,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,147,000 after buying an additional 1,925 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 46.7% in the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 10,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $460,000 after buying an additional 3,409 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PFIS shares. StockNews.com raised Peoples Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Stephens lowered their price target on Peoples Financial Services from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Hovde Group lowered their price target on 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.

Peoples Financial Services Company Profile

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.