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

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $60.82 and last traded at $60.8650, with a volume of 50164 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.49.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on PFIS. Hovde Group raised their price target on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Peoples Financial Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.50.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $601.80 million, a PE ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.77.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.54 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $92.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.95 million. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 18.06% and a net margin of 21.29%.

Peoples Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFIS. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Peoples Financial Services by 44.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after buying an additional 2,538 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 4.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 7.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 40,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 2,679 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in Peoples Financial Services during the first quarter valued at about $467,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 4.5% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 13,842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

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.