Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $71.84 and last traded at $71.8640, with a volume of 2161 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.25.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFIS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Peoples Financial Services in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Hovde Group lifted their target price on shares of 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Peoples Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.50.

Peoples Financial Services Price 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 $723.72 million, a P/E ratio of 8.01 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50-day moving average of $63.91 and a 200 day moving average of $57.76.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last announced its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.95 million. Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 21.29% and a return on equity of 18.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Peoples Financial Services by 0.5% in the second quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 44,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,982,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 116.0% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 2,968 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 55,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,976,000 after acquiring an additional 4,917 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 41.2% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 16,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $873,000 after acquiring an additional 4,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Peoples Financial Services by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 316,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,886,000 after acquiring an additional 17,655 shares during the last quarter. 31.67% of the stock is owned by 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.