Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Downgraded by StockNews.com

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PFIS opened at $47.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $337.61 million, a PE ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 0.51. Peoples Financial Services has a 52-week low of $36.26 and a 52-week high of $51.00.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $41.92 million during the quarter. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.93% and a net margin of 10.07%. Analysts forecast that Peoples Financial Services will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Peoples Financial Services

In other Peoples Financial Services news, Director Richard S. Lochen, Jr. purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $43.90 per share, with a total value of $43,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 15,555 shares in the company, valued at $682,864.50. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 1,604 shares of company stock worth $73,008. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of Peoples Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $281,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Peoples Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth $355,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 87.7% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,589 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 7.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 26,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 2.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 322,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,915,000 after purchasing an additional 6,776 shares during the last quarter. 31.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Peoples Financial Services Company Profile

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.