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

Shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 25,741 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 41% from the previous session’s volume of 18,198 shares.The stock last traded at $59.38 and had previously closed at $58.76.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Peoples Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Hovde Group upped their target price on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Down 0.1 %

The company has a market cap of $567.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.13 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.49.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $74.01 million during the quarter. Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 7.73%. As a group, analysts predict that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 3.43 EPS for the current year.

Peoples Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.618 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $2.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.35%. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 239.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth $149,000. RBF Capital LLC bought a new stake in Peoples Financial Services in the third quarter worth about $342,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 8,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 46.7% during the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 10,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 3,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 12,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,576 shares during the last quarter. 31.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Peoples Financial Services Company Profile

Peoples Financial Services Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Peoples Security Bank and Trust Company that provides various commercial and retail banking services. The company accepts money market, negotiable order of withdrawal, savings, individual retirement, demand deposit, and certificates of deposit accounts.