Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 48,902 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 61% from the previous session’s volume of 30,377 shares.The stock last traded at $50.28 and had previously closed at $49.97.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFIS has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Peoples Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Stephens upgraded shares of Peoples Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Hovde Group raised their price objective on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $502.10 million, a PE ratio of 48.80 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50-day moving average of $52.64 and a 200-day moving average of $48.52.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $74.01 million for the quarter. Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 7.73%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Peoples Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.618 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $2.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.92%. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 239.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 413.0% during the third quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 38,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,811,000 after buying an additional 31,102 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 211,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,914,000 after acquiring an additional 27,463 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 58.6% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 45,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,126,000 after acquiring an additional 16,753 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 377.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $958,000 after purchasing an additional 16,164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 45.0% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 50,884 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,385,000 after purchasing an additional 15,802 shares during the period. 31.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Peoples Financial Services

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.