Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) Shares Bought by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) by 304.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,239 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.12% of Peoples Financial Services worth $576,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Peoples Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $149,000. RBF Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services in the third quarter valued at $342,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 2.6% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 8,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 14.5% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 12,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 1,576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased 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 in the last quarter. 31.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens upgraded shares of Peoples Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Hovde Group upped their price objective 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, StockNews.com raised shares of Peoples Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PFIS opened at $51.18 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $511.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.69 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $52.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.00. Peoples Financial Services Corp. has a 12-month low of $36.26 and a 12-month high of $59.70.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last released its earnings results 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. Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 7.73%. The business had revenue of $74.01 million for the quarter. On average, research analysts forecast that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 4.39 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.618 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $2.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.83%. Peoples Financial Services’s payout ratio is 239.81%.

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.