Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Raised 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 report issued on Thursday morning.

Peoples Financial Services Trading Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ:PFIS traded down $0.68 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $49.80. The company had a trading volume of 13,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,885. Peoples Financial Services has a 1 year low of $36.26 and a 1 year high of $55.64. The company has a market cap of $497.00 million, a P/E ratio of 20.95 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $46.80 and a 200 day moving average of $43.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $74.01 million during the quarter. Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 5.93%. Sell-side analysts expect that Peoples Financial Services will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Peoples Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given 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 yield of 4.96%. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 102.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 413.0% during the third quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 38,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,811,000 after purchasing an additional 31,102 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 58.6% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 45,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,126,000 after purchasing an additional 16,753 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 45.0% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 50,884 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,385,000 after buying an additional 15,802 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 5.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 191,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,740,000 after buying an additional 9,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 7,831 shares during the last quarter. 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.