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

Shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 34,651 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 10% from the previous session’s volume of 31,571 shares.The stock last traded at $54.00 and had previously closed at $54.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFIS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Peoples Financial Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Stephens increased their price objective on Peoples Financial Services from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.00.

Peoples Financial Services Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $53.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $544.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.01 and a beta of 0.77.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $89.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.25 million. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 21.50%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 5.92 EPS for the current year.

Peoples Financial Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This is a boost from Peoples Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.62%.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Financial Services

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Peoples Financial Services by 44.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 2,538 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 4.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 40,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,808,000 after acquiring an additional 2,679 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the first quarter worth $467,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 5.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 231,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,430,000 after acquiring an additional 12,447 shares during the period. 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.