Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday. 94,292 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 78% from the average daily volume of 52,872 shares. The stock last traded at $74.9220 and had previously closed at $72.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Peoples Financial Services Trading Down 1.3%

The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $720.61 million, a P/E ratio of 11.92 and a beta of 0.77.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $52.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $53.80 million. Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 20.51% and a return on equity of 11.76%. As a group, analysts forecast that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Peoples Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 30th will be issued a $0.6250 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 30th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 41.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP James P. Chiaro sold 605 shares of Peoples Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.26, for a total transaction of $44,322.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,106. This trade represents a 16.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 8.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Peoples Financial Services in the second quarter valued at $49,412,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 466.7% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 79,954 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,386,000 after acquiring an additional 65,846 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Peoples Financial Services during the second quarter valued at $3,987,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Peoples Financial Services during the second quarter valued at $3,494,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 316,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,886,000 after purchasing an additional 17,655 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

Peoples Financial Services Company Profile

Peoples Financial Services Corp. is the bank holding company for Peoples Security Bank and Trust Company, a community banking institution headquartered in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The bank provides financial services to individuals, businesses, nonprofit organizations and municipal customers.

Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential and commercial real estate loans, consumer lending, business loans, lines of credit and other treasury-management services.