28,321 Shares in Peoples Financial Services Corp. $PFIS Acquired by Nuveen LLC

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has invested approximately $1.26 million in Peoples Financial Services Corp. by acquiring 28,321 shares during the first quarter, representing a 0.28% ownership stake.
• Peoples Financial Services announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6175 per share, which will yield 4.7% on an annualized basis, with the dividend payable on September 15th.
• Wall Street Zen upgraded Peoples Financial Services' rating from "hold" to "buy", indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a price target of $53.00.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 28,321 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,259,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.28% of Peoples Financial Services at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 67,838.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,229 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $544,000 after buying an additional 12,211 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 8,193 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 2,129 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 35.1% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,946 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $353,000 after buying an additional 2,066 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 31.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,276 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $628,000 after buying an additional 2,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 495,001 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $22,013,000 after buying an additional 6,935 shares during the last quarter. 31.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Peoples Financial Services Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ PFIS traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $52.90. The stock had a trading volume of 42,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,129. The company has a market capitalization of $528.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79 and a beta of 0.80. Peoples Financial Services Corp. has a 1-year low of $38.90 and a 1-year high of $59.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $50.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.96.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $48.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.75 million. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 11.80%. On average, analysts predict that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Peoples Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $0.6175 dividend. This represents a $2.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Peoples Financial Services's payout ratio is currently 73.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard S. Lochen, Jr. purchased 1,000 shares of Peoples Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $47.67 per share, with a total value of $47,670.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $873,266.73. The trade was a 5.77% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Peoples Financial Services 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.