Peoples Financial Services Corp. $PFIS is Peoples Financial Services CORP.'s 9th Largest Position

Key Points

• Peoples Financial Services CORP. trimmed its stake in PFIS by 51.3% in Q4, holding 91,791 shares after selling 96,517 shares and making PFIS its 9th-largest position (about $4.47 million).
• PFIS reported quarterly EPS of $1.36 (missing the $1.52 consensus) but posted revenue of $89.23 million; the bank shows a ROE of 18.6% and analysts have a consensus Hold rating with a $53 price target.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.625 ($2.50 annualized) for a ~4.4% yield, while shares trade near $57.29 with a PE of 6.33 and market cap around $573 million.

Peoples Financial Services CORP. trimmed its stake in Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS - Free Report) by 51.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 91,791 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 96,517 shares during the period. Peoples Financial Services comprises 2.1% of Peoples Financial Services CORP.'s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Peoples Financial Services CORP. owned about 0.92% of Peoples Financial Services worth $4,470,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Peoples Financial Services by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 44,797 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,182,000 after buying an additional 7,159 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Peoples Financial Services by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,619 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 2,420 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its position in Peoples Financial Services by 48.2% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 21,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,027,000 after buying an additional 6,873 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in Peoples Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $213,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Peoples Financial Services by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,885 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 548 shares during the period. 31.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Peoples Financial Services Trading Down 1.2%

NASDAQ PFIS opened at $57.29 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $573.47 million, a PE ratio of 6.33 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $54.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.92. Peoples Financial Services Corp. has a 52 week low of $40.89 and a 52 week high of $58.58.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $89.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.25 million. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 21.50%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 5.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.625 per share. This is a boost from Peoples Financial Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Peoples Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PFIS shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Peoples Financial Services from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.00.

About Peoples Financial Services

Peoples Financial Services Corporation is the bank holding company for PeoplesBank, a community-focused commercial bank headquartered in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, PeoplesBank, PFIS offers a full suite of banking services to individuals, small businesses, and commercial clients. These services include deposit accounts, consumer and residential mortgage lending, commercial and industrial lending, and treasury management solutions.

Founded in 1842, PeoplesBank has grown organically and through selective acquisitions to become a prominent community bank in Western Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut.

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