Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) shares saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 135,241 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 404% from the previous session’s volume of 26,850 shares.The stock last traded at $53.80 and had previously closed at $54.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on PFIS shares. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Peoples Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Peoples Financial Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Peoples Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Down 1.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $52.58 and a 200 day moving average of $50.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $526.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 0.78.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $89.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.25 million. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 18.84% and a net margin of 21.50%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. This is an increase from Peoples Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Peoples Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 27.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PFIS. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in shares of Peoples Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,993,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 429.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 33,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,647,000 after purchasing an additional 27,489 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 298,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,563,000 after purchasing an additional 14,333 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 5.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 231,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,430,000 after purchasing an additional 12,447 shares during the period. Finally, Fourthstone LLC acquired a new position in Peoples Financial Services during the second quarter worth approximately $568,000. Institutional investors own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

About Peoples Financial Services

Peoples Financial Services Corporation is the bank holding company for PeoplesBank, a community-focused commercial bank headquartered in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, PeoplesBank, PFIS offers a full suite of banking services to individuals, small businesses, and commercial clients. These services include deposit accounts, consumer and residential mortgage lending, commercial and industrial lending, and treasury management solutions.

Founded in 1842, PeoplesBank has grown organically and through selective acquisitions to become a prominent community bank in Western Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut.