Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $57.00 and last traded at $56.2990, with a volume of 4016 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.30.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFIS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Hovde Group dropped their target price on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Peoples Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Peoples Financial Services in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on Peoples Financial Services from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Up 2.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $567.43 million, a PE ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $51.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $89.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.25 million. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 18.84% and a net margin of 21.50%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This is an increase from Peoples Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,993,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 429.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 33,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,647,000 after acquiring an additional 27,489 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 5.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 231,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,430,000 after acquiring an additional 12,447 shares in the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC acquired a new position in shares of Peoples Financial Services during the second quarter worth about $568,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 3.9% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 284,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,836,000 after purchasing an additional 10,716 shares in the last quarter. 31.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Peoples Financial Services Company Profile

Peoples Financial Services Corporation is the bank holding company for PeoplesBank, a community-focused commercial bank headquartered in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, PeoplesBank, PFIS offers a full suite of banking services to individuals, small businesses, and commercial clients. These services include deposit accounts, consumer and residential mortgage lending, commercial and industrial lending, and treasury management solutions.

Founded in 1842, PeoplesBank has grown organically and through selective acquisitions to become a prominent community bank in Western Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut.