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 company traded as high as $60.82 and last traded at $60.8650, with a volume of 50164 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.49.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PFIS shares. Stephens lifted their target price on 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. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on Peoples Financial Services from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Peoples Financial Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.50.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Up 1.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.62. The company has a market capitalization of $604.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.69 and a beta of 0.77.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $92.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 29.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 2,420 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 10.7% in the second quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 11,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $574,000 after acquiring an additional 1,124 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 82.2% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 12,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $597,000 after acquiring an additional 5,526 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 28.8% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $600,000 after acquiring an additional 2,713 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 4.5% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 13,842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

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.