Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Shares Down 6% Following Weak Earnings

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) shares dropped 6% during mid-day trading on Friday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $50.01 and last traded at $50.46. Approximately 4,514 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 26,853 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.70.

The financial services provider reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.17). Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 7.73%.

Peoples Financial Services Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.6175 per share. This represents a $2.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 239.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFIS. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Peoples Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $149,000. RBF Capital LLC bought a new position in Peoples Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth $342,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in Peoples Financial Services by 304.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 12,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 9,239 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in Peoples Financial Services by 60.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 12,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 4,627 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 13,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $675,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. 31.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Peoples Financial Services Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $51.90 and a 200 day moving average of $49.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $509.19 million, a P/E ratio of 49.49 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

About Peoples Financial Services

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.