Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 52,688 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 6% from the previous session’s volume of 49,495 shares.The stock last traded at $66.08 and had previously closed at $67.05.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on PFIS. Hovde Group raised their target price on 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Peoples Financial Services in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Peoples Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.50.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Down 1.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.96. The stock has a market cap of $664.31 million, a P/E ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 0.76.

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 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Peoples Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services during the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of 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 worth $48,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Peoples Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Institutional investors own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

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.