Stifel Financial Corp Purchases 4,627 Shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS)

Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) by 60.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,627 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.12% of Peoples Financial Services worth $577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth $149,000. RBF Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Peoples Financial Services in the third quarter worth about $342,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $398,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 14.5% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 12,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $567,000 after buying an additional 1,576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,202,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ PFIS opened at $52.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Peoples Financial Services Corp. has a 12 month low of $36.26 and a 12 month high of $59.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $52.12 and its 200 day moving average is $47.54. The stock has a market cap of $521.44 million, a PE ratio of 50.65 and a beta of 0.55.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $74.01 million for the quarter. Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 7.73%. Research analysts predict that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 4.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on PFIS. 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 target price on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Stephens upgraded Peoples Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

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.