Hovde Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Stock

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) had its target price hoisted by investment analysts at Hovde Group from $48.00 to $53.00 in a research report issued on Monday. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Hovde Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 6.02% from the stock’s previous close.

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Peoples Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Peoples Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PFIS opened at $49.99 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market cap of $498.90 million, a P/E ratio of 48.53 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.12. Peoples Financial Services has a 52 week low of $36.26 and a 52 week high of $55.64.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.56. The company 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 8.50%. Equities research analysts forecast that Peoples Financial Services will post 3.43 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Financial Services

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $149,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 87.7% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,589 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 8,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its position in Peoples Financial Services by 46.7% in the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 10,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 3,409 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 14.5% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 12,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $567,000 after buying an additional 1,576 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

About Peoples Financial Services

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.