Hoey Investments Inc. Buys Shares of 2,471 Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS)

Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 2,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $126,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 69.3% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 34,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,771,000 after purchasing an additional 14,170 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of Peoples Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $1,921,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 14,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $721,000 after buying an additional 1,082 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 51,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,614,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA raised its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 67.8% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 21,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,091,000 after buying an additional 8,673 shares during the period. 31.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Stephens raised Peoples Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

Peoples Financial Services Price Performance

Peoples Financial Services stock opened at $44.73 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Peoples Financial Services Corp. has a 52-week low of $36.26 and a 52-week high of $59.70. The firm has a market cap of $447.17 million, a PE ratio of 39.58 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50 day moving average is $49.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.75.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.17). Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 3.70% and a return on equity of 8.97%. On average, research analysts expect that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 5.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.6175 dividend. This represents a $2.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Peoples Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 218.58%.

Insider Transactions at Peoples Financial Services

In other news, Director Richard S. Lochen, Jr. bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $47.12 per share, for a total transaction of $47,120.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 17,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $807,118.48. This trade represents a 6.20 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Peoples Financial Services 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.