Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $52.79, but opened at $50.56. Peoples Financial Services shares last traded at $50.51, with a volume of 817 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on PFIS. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Peoples Financial Services in a report on Thursday. Hovde Group dropped their price target on Peoples Financial Services from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut Peoples Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Stephens set a $50.00 target price on shares of Peoples Financial Services and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Peoples Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.00.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Up 0.2%

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 business has a 50 day moving average of $49.78 and a 200 day moving average of $49.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $506.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 0.81.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $3.19. Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 20.17% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The business had revenue of $65.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.00 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 5.92 EPS for the current year.

Peoples Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were given a dividend of $0.6175 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $2.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.16%.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Financial Services

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Peoples Financial Services by 44.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 2,538 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 4.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Peoples Financial Services by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 40,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,808,000 after buying an additional 2,679 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Peoples Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth about $467,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 231,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,430,000 after acquiring an additional 12,447 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

Peoples Financial Services Company Profile

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.