Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The financial services provider reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.16), FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $89.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.25 million. Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 20.17% and a return on equity of 18.32%.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Performance

PFIS traded up $0.83 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $52.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 23,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,529. Peoples Financial Services has a twelve month low of $38.90 and a twelve month high of $54.20. The stock has a market cap of $520.74 million, a P/E ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PFIS. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 429.7% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 33,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,647,000 after purchasing an additional 27,489 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 284,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,836,000 after acquiring an additional 10,716 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at about $467,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 48.2% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 21,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 6,873 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the third quarter worth about $270,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PFIS. Wall Street Zen downgraded Peoples Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Peoples Financial Services in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Hovde Group cut their target price on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Stephens set a $50.00 price target on shares of Peoples Financial Services and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Peoples Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.00.

About Peoples Financial Services

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.