Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Hits New 52-Week High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $52.58 and last traded at $51.99, with a volume of 19705 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $48.40.

The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $74.01 million during the quarter. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.93% and a net margin of 10.07%.

Peoples Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.618 dividend. This represents a $2.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 102.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PFIS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Peoples Financial Services by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 322,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,915,000 after buying an additional 6,776 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 5.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 191,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,740,000 after acquiring an additional 9,122 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 19.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 47,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,148,000 after acquiring an additional 7,831 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 58.6% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 45,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,126,000 after purchasing an additional 16,753 shares during the period. Finally, Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 413.0% in the 3rd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 38,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,811,000 after purchasing an additional 31,102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

Peoples Financial Services Trading Up 13.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $546.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.70 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $46.75 and its 200-day moving average is $43.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

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.