Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) Short Interest Update

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 61,000 shares, an increase of 19.6% from the January 31st total of 51,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 30,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFIS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens upgraded Peoples Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Peoples Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Hovde Group upped 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 Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:PFIS traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $46.95. 8,051 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 27,237. The firm has a market capitalization of $469.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.56 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Peoples Financial Services has a 12-month low of $36.26 and a 12-month high of $59.70. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $50.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.72.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.17). Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 3.70% and a return on equity of 8.97%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Peoples Financial Services will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Peoples Financial Services Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.6175 dividend. This represents a $2.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Peoples Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 218.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $126,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Peoples Financial Services by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 688 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Peoples Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $239,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Peoples Financial Services by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 5,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

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.