Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 12,684 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 34% from the previous session’s volume of 19,074 shares.The stock last traded at $50.59 and had previously closed at $50.66.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PFIS shares. Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com raised Peoples Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Stephens raised Peoples Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th.

Peoples Financial Services Trading Up 3.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The business’s 50-day moving average is $51.88 and its 200 day moving average is $47.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $521.44 million, a P/E ratio of 50.65 and a beta of 0.55.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last announced 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 company 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 4.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.618 dividend. This represents a $2.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 239.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Peoples Financial Services in the third quarter valued at about $149,000. RBF Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $342,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in Peoples Financial Services by 14.5% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 12,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 304.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 12,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 9,239 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.