Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 49,514 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 14% from the previous session’s volume of 43,409 shares.The stock last traded at $61.2550 and had previously closed at $60.12.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PFIS shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Peoples Financial Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Stephens upped their price objective on Peoples Financial Services from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Hovde Group upped 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. 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, Peoples Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.50.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $57.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.72. 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 stock has a market cap of $608.72 million, a P/E ratio of 6.73 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Peoples Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Peoples Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 27.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 44.8% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 40,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after buying an additional 2,679 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Peoples Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at $467,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 13,842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $683,000 after buying an additional 597 shares in 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.