Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of PFIS stock opened at $49.99 on Thursday. Peoples Financial Services has a 12-month low of $36.26 and a 12-month high of $55.64. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market cap of $498.70 million, a PE ratio of 48.53 and a beta of 0.50.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.56. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 3.00%. The firm had revenue of $74.01 million for the quarter. Analysts expect that Peoples Financial Services will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued 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 4.94%. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 239.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFIS. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $149,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Peoples Financial Services by 87.7% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,589 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in Peoples Financial Services by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 8,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 46.7% during the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 10,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $460,000 after buying an additional 3,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 14.5% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 12,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $567,000 after buying an additional 1,576 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

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.