Peoples Financial Services CORP. Sells 96,517 Shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. $PFIS

Peoples Financial Services CORP. decreased its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) by 51.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 96,517 shares during the quarter. Peoples Financial Services comprises 2.1% of Peoples Financial Services CORP.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Peoples Financial Services CORP.’s holdings in Peoples Financial Services were worth $4,470,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new position in Peoples Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 1,338.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Peoples Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 434.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 59.1% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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 target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Peoples Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Down 1.2%

NASDAQ:PFIS opened at $57.29 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $54.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.92. Peoples Financial Services Corp. has a 1-year low of $40.89 and a 1-year high of $58.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $573.47 million, a P/E ratio of 6.33 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.16). Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 21.50%.The firm had revenue of $89.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.25 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 5.92 EPS for the current year.

Peoples Financial Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. This is a boost from Peoples Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. Peoples Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 27.62%.

Peoples Financial Services 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.