Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume on Analyst Upgrade

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday after Hovde Group raised their price target on the stock from $48.00 to $53.00. Hovde Group currently has a market perform rating on the stock. 44,070 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 156% from the previous session’s volume of 17,182 shares.The stock last traded at $52.00 and had previously closed at $49.99.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Peoples Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 7.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 26,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 1,925 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Peoples Financial Services by 413.0% during the 3rd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 38,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,811,000 after purchasing an additional 31,102 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its holdings 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 valued at $460,000 after buying an additional 3,409 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 87.7% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Peoples Financial Services during the third quarter worth about $149,000. 31.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Peoples Financial Services Trading Up 4.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market capitalization of $521.95 million, a P/E ratio of 50.78 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $46.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.12.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.56. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 3.00%. The company had revenue of $74.01 million for the quarter. Analysts anticipate that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 3.43 EPS for the current year.

Peoples Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.618 dividend. This represents a $2.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Peoples Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 239.81%.

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.