Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Makes New $1.92 Million Investment in Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 37,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,921,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC owned about 0.38% of Peoples Financial Services at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 688 shares during the period. RBF Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Peoples Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $342,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 304.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 12,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 9,239 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 60.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 12,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $577,000 after buying an additional 4,627 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in Peoples Financial Services by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 13,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $675,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the period. 31.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Stephens upgraded shares of Peoples Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard S. Lochen, Jr. purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 17,129 shares in the company, valued at $807,118.48. This represents a 6.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Peoples Financial Services Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of PFIS opened at $44.73 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $49.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.67. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $447.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.58 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Peoples Financial Services Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.6175 per share. This represents a $2.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Peoples Financial Services’s payout ratio is 218.58%.

Peoples Financial Services 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.