Empowered Funds LLC Buys 16,753 Shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS)

Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) by 58.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,753 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.45% of Peoples Financial Services worth $2,126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PFIS. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 413.0% in the third 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 during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 191,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,740,000 after purchasing an additional 9,122 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 19.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 47,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,148,000 after purchasing an additional 7,831 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 2.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 322,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,915,000 after purchasing an additional 6,776 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 46.7% in the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 10,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 3,409 shares in the last quarter. 31.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Peoples Financial Services Price Performance

NASDAQ:PFIS opened at $52.69 on Thursday. 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 cap of $526.37 million, a PE ratio of 51.16 and a beta of 0.50. Peoples Financial Services Corp. has a 12 month low of $36.26 and a 12 month high of $55.64. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $47.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.80.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 3.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.618 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $2.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.69%. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 239.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFIS has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Peoples Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on Peoples Financial Services from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th.

Peoples Financial Services Company 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.