Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) Director Richard S. Lochen, Jr. Purchases 1,000 Shares

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) Director Richard S. Lochen, Jr. acquired 1,000 shares of Peoples Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $47.12 per share, with a total value of $47,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $807,118.48. This trade represents a 6.20 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PFIS opened at $46.87 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.73. The company has a market cap of $468.47 million, a PE ratio of 41.48 and a beta of 0.56. Peoples Financial Services Corp. has a 12-month low of $36.26 and a 12-month high of $59.70.

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

Peoples Financial Services Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.6175 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.27%. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 218.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PFIS shares. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on Peoples Financial Services from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Stephens upgraded Peoples Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Peoples Financial Services by 58.6% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 45,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,126,000 after purchasing an additional 16,753 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Peoples Financial Services by 14.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 211,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,914,000 after purchasing an additional 27,463 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Peoples Financial Services by 377.8% in the third 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 period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Peoples Financial Services by 304.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 12,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 9,239 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Peoples Financial Services by 45.0% in the third 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 and hedge funds.

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.