Insider Selling: Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) EVP Sells $186,175.00 in Stock

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) EVP Jeffrey Drobins sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.47, for a total transaction of $186,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $265,336.61. This trade represents a 41.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Peoples Financial Services Trading Down 0.2%

PFIS opened at $72.44 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $70.34 and its 200-day moving average is $63.02. Peoples Financial Services Corp. has a 1-year low of $46.07 and a 1-year high of $76.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $725.12 million, a P/E ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 0.77.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $52.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $53.80 million. Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 20.51% and a return on equity of 11.75%. Equities research analysts predict that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 30th will be given a $0.6250 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 30th. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.39%.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Financial Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PFIS. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Peoples Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $201,000. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Peoples Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $215,000. Man Group plc bought a new stake in Peoples Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $233,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $319,000. 31.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on PFIS. Zacks Research raised shares of Peoples Financial Services to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Hovde Group increased their price target on Peoples Financial Services from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Peoples Financial Services from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Peoples Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.50.

Peoples Financial Services Company Profile

Peoples Financial Services Corp. is a bank holding company whose principal subsidiary, Peoples Security Bank and Trust Company, provides community banking services. The company serves individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations, with a presence across northeastern and central Pennsylvania. Its services include checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential mortgages, consumer loans, and commercial lending. Customers can also access online and mobile banking and business cash-management services.