Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Sees Strong Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 20,902 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 16% from the previous session’s volume of 18,092 shares.The stock last traded at $50.7550 and had previously closed at $49.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on PFIS. Hovde Group lowered 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 note on Monday, November 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Peoples Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Stephens set a $50.00 target price on shares of Peoples Financial Services and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Peoples Financial Services in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.00.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $511.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.04 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $50.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $3.19. The company had revenue of $65.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.00 million. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 20.17%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFIS. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 59.1% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 6.3% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 5.8% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $366,000 after buying an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 7.9% in the third quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

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.