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

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . 52,688 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 6% from the previous session’s volume of 49,495 shares.The stock last traded at $66.08 and had previously closed at $67.05.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Hovde Group increased their price target on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Peoples Financial Services in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.50.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Down 1.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $61.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.96. The firm has a market cap of $664.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 0.76.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $92.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.95 million. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 18.06% and a net margin of 21.29%.

Peoples Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.69%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFIS. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in Peoples Financial Services by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 59.1% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $707,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.