Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Stock: Insider James Nicholas Sells 3,984 Shares

Key Points

• Director James Nicholas sold 3,984 PFIS shares at an average price of $72.07, for about $287,127; the transaction was disclosed in an SEC filing.
• Peoples Financial Services reported quarterly EPS of $1.90, beating the $1.71 consensus estimate, while revenue of $52.97 million came in below expectations of $53.80 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.625 per share, equivalent to $2.50 annually and a 3.4% yield. Analysts’ consensus rating is Hold, with a $65.50 target price.

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) Director James Nicholas sold 3,984 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $287,126.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Peoples Financial Services Price Performance

NASDAQ:PFIS traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $72.94. The stock had a trading volume of 23,858 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,697. The firm has a market capitalization of $730.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 0.77. Peoples Financial Services Corp. has a one year low of $46.07 and a one year high of $76.49. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.19. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 11.76% and a net margin of 20.51%. The firm had revenue of $52.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $53.80 million. Research analysts forecast that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 30th will be given a dividend of $0.6250 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 30th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Peoples Financial Services's payout ratio is presently 41.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Hovde Group raised their price objective on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Peoples Financial Services from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Peoples Financial Services to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.50.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Financial Services

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $61,000. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth $201,000. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth $215,000. Man Group plc bought a new stake in Peoples Financial Services in the second quarter worth $233,000. Finally, Archer Investment Corp bought a new stake in Peoples Financial Services in the first quarter worth $267,000. Institutional investors 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. The bank provides financial services to individuals, businesses, nonprofit organizations and municipal customers. Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential and commercial real estate loans, consumer lending, business loans, lines of credit and other treasury-management services.

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