Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $67.75 and last traded at $67.1630, with a volume of 7711 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $66.37.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFIS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Peoples Financial Services in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Hovde Group raised their price target on Peoples Financial Services from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.50.

Peoples Financial Services Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $678.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.52 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.98.

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

Peoples Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 27.69%.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Financial Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 4.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 59.1% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $707,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.