Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Peoples Financial Services to a “hold” rating. The analyst consensus remains “Hold,” with one Buy and three Hold ratings and an average price target of $65.50.
• PFIS shares opened at $69.80, near their 52-week high of $73.37, with a market capitalization of approximately $698.7 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.90.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.48, missing the $1.64 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $97.74 million. Institutional investors own 31.67% of the stock.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Peoples Financial Services in a report on Friday, September 4th. Hovde Group increased their price target on Peoples Financial Services from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $65.50.

Peoples Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PFIS opened at $69.80 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.10. Peoples Financial Services has a one year low of $43.64 and a one year high of $73.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $698.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.90 and a beta of 0.74.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $97.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $52.35 million. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 17.27% and a net margin of 20.66%. On average, analysts predict that Peoples Financial Services will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PFIS. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the second quarter valued at about $61,000. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Peoples Financial Services during the second quarter worth $201,000. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Peoples Financial Services in the second quarter valued at $215,000. Man Group plc acquired a new stake in Peoples Financial Services in the second quarter valued at $233,000. Finally, Archer Investment Corp purchased a new position in shares of Peoples Financial Services in the first quarter valued at $267,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.67% of the company's stock.

About Peoples Financial Services

Peoples Financial Services Corp. is the bank holding company for Peoples Security Bank and Trust Company, a community banking institution headquartered in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Through its banking subsidiary, the company provides financial services to individuals, families, businesses and nonprofit organizations.

Peoples Security Bank and Trust offers deposit accounts, consumer and residential real estate loans, commercial lending, mortgage products, cash management services and other traditional banking solutions.

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