Richard S. Lochen, Jr. Purchases 1,000 Shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) Stock

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) Director Richard S. Lochen, Jr. bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $47.12 per share, for a total transaction of $47,120.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,129 shares in the company, valued at $807,118.48. This represents a 6.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Peoples Financial Services stock opened at $46.87 on Friday. Peoples Financial Services Corp. has a 1-year low of $36.26 and a 1-year high of $59.70. The company has a market capitalization of $468.47 million, a P/E ratio of 41.48 and a beta of 0.56. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $50.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.17). Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 3.70% and a return on equity of 8.97%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 5.92 EPS for the current year.

Peoples Financial Services Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.6175 per share. This represents a $2.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 218.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Hovde Group lifted their target price on Peoples Financial Services from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Stephens raised Peoples Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 232,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,876,000 after purchasing an additional 9,889 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 211,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,914,000 after acquiring an additional 27,463 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 181,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,516,000 after acquiring an additional 11,236 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 82,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 52,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,666,000 after acquiring an additional 8,911 shares during the last quarter. 31.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Peoples Financial Services

Peoples Financial Services Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Peoples Security Bank and Trust Company that provides various commercial and retail banking services. The company accepts money market, negotiable order of withdrawal, savings, individual retirement, demand deposit, and certificates of deposit accounts.