Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday. 39,537 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 24% from the previous session’s volume of 52,318 shares. The stock last traded at $67.9050 and had previously closed at $67.25.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFIS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Peoples Financial Services in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Zacks Research raised shares of Peoples Financial Services to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Hovde Group upped their price objective on Peoples Financial Services from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Peoples Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.50.

Peoples Financial Services Trading Down 0.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $680.88 million, a PE ratio of 7.60 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company’s fifty day moving average is $70.07 and its 200-day moving average is $64.56.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.16). Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 17.27% and a net margin of 20.66%. The firm had revenue of $97.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $52.35 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a dividend of $0.6250 per share. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. Peoples Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 28.31%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Peoples Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $393,000. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in Peoples Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $336,000. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new stake in Peoples Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $332,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Peoples Financial Services during the second quarter worth $3,987,000. 31.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Peoples Financial Services Company Profile

Peoples Financial Services Corp. is a bank holding company headquartered in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Its principal subsidiary, Peoples Security Bank and Trust Company, provides community banking services to individuals, families, businesses and institutions.

The company offers deposit products, residential and commercial real estate lending, consumer loans, business loans and other financing solutions. Its services also include cash management and treasury services, online and mobile banking, trust and wealth management, investment services and insurance-related offerings.

Peoples Security Bank and Trust serves communities primarily in northeastern Pennsylvania and portions of southern New York through a network of banking offices and digital channels.