Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 12,684 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 34% from the previous session’s volume of 19,074 shares.The stock last traded at $50.59 and had previously closed at $50.66.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFIS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Peoples Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Hovde Group upped their target price 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. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of Peoples Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $521.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.65 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.26.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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. Analysts forecast that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.618 per share. This represents a $2.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 239.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 47,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,148,000 after purchasing an additional 7,831 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 2.6% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 8,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 14.5% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 12,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 1,576 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 5.0% during the second 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 during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Peoples Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth $149,000. 31.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.