Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 17,863 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 1% from the previous session’s volume of 18,023 shares.The stock last traded at $50.7450 and had previously closed at $52.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stephens set a $50.00 price target on Peoples Financial Services and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Peoples Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Peoples Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Hovde Group cut their price target on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.00.

Peoples Financial Services Trading Down 2.7%

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $509.84 million, a PE ratio of 6.04 and a beta of 0.81.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $3.19. Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 20.17% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The business had revenue of $65.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.00 million. Equities analysts forecast that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Peoples Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a $0.6175 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $2.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.16%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the third quarter worth $37,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 1,338.3% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Peoples Financial Services in the second quarter valued at about $44,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 434.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 786 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 59.1% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the period. 31.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.