Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of Peoples Financial Services stock opened at $47.84 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $337.61 million, a PE ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 0.51. Peoples Financial Services has a 52-week low of $36.26 and a 52-week high of $51.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.07. Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 5.93%. The company had revenue of $41.92 million during the quarter. On average, analysts anticipate that Peoples Financial Services will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Richard S. Lochen, Jr. purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $43.90 per share, with a total value of $43,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 15,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $682,864.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 1,604 shares of company stock valued at $73,008. 4.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFIS. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 87.7% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after buying an additional 1,589 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in Peoples Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at $281,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $355,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in Peoples Financial Services by 2.6% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 8,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 14.5% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 12,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,576 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

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.