Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 74,586 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 55% from the previous session’s volume of 48,192 shares.The stock last traded at $67.6860 and had previously closed at $68.03.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFIS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Hovde Group increased their price objective on Peoples Financial Services from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Peoples Financial Services in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.50.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $671.87 million, a P/E ratio of 7.43 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.74.

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

Peoples Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 27.69%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Peoples Financial Services in the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Peoples Financial Services by 59.1% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Peoples Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. 31.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.