Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Sees Large Volume Increase – Time to Buy?

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 25,741 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 41% from the previous session’s volume of 18,198 shares.The stock last traded at $59.38 and had previously closed at $58.76.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on PFIS. StockNews.com raised Peoples Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Hovde Group raised their target price 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.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $48.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.28. 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 market capitalization of $576.72 million, a P/E ratio of 57.05 and a beta of 0.50.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.56. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 7.73% and a net margin of 3.00%. The business had revenue of $74.01 million during the quarter. On average, equities analysts forecast that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Peoples Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.618 dividend. This represents a $2.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Peoples Financial Services’s payout ratio is 239.81%.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Financial Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFIS. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Peoples Financial Services by 413.0% in the 3rd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 38,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,811,000 after buying an additional 31,102 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 27,463 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 16,753 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 45.0% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 50,884 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,385,000 after purchasing an additional 15,802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 181,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,516,000 after purchasing an additional 11,236 shares during the last quarter. 31.67% of the stock is 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.