Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Price Target Raised to $75.00

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) had its target price hoisted by Hovde Group from $61.00 to $75.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Peoples Financial Services in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.50.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of Peoples Financial Services stock opened at $71.55 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $65.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $716.22 million, a P/E ratio of 8.10 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Peoples Financial Services has a 52 week low of $43.64 and a 52 week high of $73.37.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.16). Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 20.66%.The company had revenue of $52.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $52.35 million.

Peoples Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.31%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Peoples Financial Services during the second quarter valued at $3,494,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 429.7% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 33,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,647,000 after acquiring an additional 27,489 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 5.9% in the first 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 period. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth about $467,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 48.2% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 21,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 6,873 shares in the last quarter. 31.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.