Cutler Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Peoples Financial Services Corp. $PFIS

Key Points

• Cutler Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Peoples Financial Services Corp., purchasing 27,948 shares valued at approximately $1,243,000, which represents about 0.28% of the company as of their latest SEC filing.
• Peoples Financial Services recently reported a strong earnings impact, with $1.69 EPS for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.48.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6175 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 4.9%, with distribution set for September 15th.

Cutler Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 27,948 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,243,000. Cutler Capital Management LLC owned 0.28% of Peoples Financial Services at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 1.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 495,001 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $22,013,000 after purchasing an additional 6,935 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 232,031 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,876,000 after acquiring an additional 9,889 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 82,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,618 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 69.3% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 34,612 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,771,000 after acquiring an additional 14,170 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 28,321 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,464 shares during the period. 31.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Peoples Financial Services

In other Peoples Financial Services news, Director Richard S. Lochen, Jr. acquired 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $47.67 per share, for a total transaction of $47,670.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 18,319 shares in the company, valued at $873,266.73. This represents a 5.77% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Peoples Financial Services Price Performance

PFIS stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $53.22. The stock had a trading volume of 23,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,557. The company's 50 day moving average price is $50.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.90. Peoples Financial Services Corp. has a 1-year low of $38.90 and a 1-year high of $59.70. The stock has a market cap of $531.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.21. Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 11.80% and a return on equity of 12.20%. The firm had revenue of $48.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $46.75 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 5.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.6175 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $2.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Peoples Financial Services's payout ratio is presently 73.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised Peoples Financial Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.00.

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.