Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.16 EPS

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.16), FiscalAI reports. Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 21.29% and a return on equity of 18.06%.

Peoples Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PFIS traded down $0.59 on Thursday, reaching $71.11. 33,308 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 63,143. Peoples Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $43.64 and a fifty-two week high of $73.37. The company’s 50 day moving average is $64.68 and its 200-day moving average is $58.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $711.81 million, a PE ratio of 7.87 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PFIS. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 5,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,124 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 397.8% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 3,855 shares in the last quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. acquired a new stake in Peoples Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth about $213,000. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Peoples Financial Services during the second quarter valued at about $203,000. 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.