Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 74,586 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 55% from the previous session’s volume of 48,192 shares.The stock last traded at $67.6860 and had previously closed at $68.03.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PFIS shares. Hovde Group increased their target price on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Peoples Financial Services in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.50.

Peoples Financial Services Trading Down 1.4%

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.55. The company has a market cap of $671.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.43 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.54 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $92.63 million during 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.69%.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Financial Services

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake 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 grew its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 9.7% in the first 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 period. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 41.2% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 16,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $873,000 after purchasing an additional 4,774 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Peoples Financial Services by 5.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 316,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,886,000 after purchasing an additional 17,655 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp acquired a new position in Peoples Financial Services during the first quarter worth approximately $267,000. 31.67% of the stock is 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.