Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) Stock Short Interest Report for September

Key Points

• Short interest surged 54.4% to 379,590 shares as of September 30, representing 4.1% of PFIS’s outstanding stock and 5.9 days of average trading volume to cover.
• Peoples Financial Services reported quarterly EPS of $1.48, below the $1.64 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $97.74 million. Analysts project full-year EPS of $6.37.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.625, or $2.50 annualized, yielding approximately 3.7%. Institutional investors own 31.67% of the stock, while analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $65.50 price target.

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 379,590 shares, an increase of 54.4% from the September 15th total of 245,876 shares. Currently, 4.1% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 64,839 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.9 days.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ PFIS traded up $0.42 on Friday, reaching $68.47. 24,413 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 52,394. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $69.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.77. Peoples Financial Services has a 12 month low of $43.64 and a 12 month high of $73.37. The company has a market cap of $685.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $97.74 million during 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Peoples Financial Services will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a $0.6250 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. Peoples Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PFIS. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $393,000. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth about $215,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth about $336,000. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth about $332,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Peoples Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,987,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 31.67% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on PFIS. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Peoples Financial Services in a report on Friday, September 4th. Hovde Group raised their target price on Peoples Financial Services from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Peoples Financial Services to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Peoples Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.50.

About Peoples Financial Services

Peoples Financial Services Corp. is a bank holding company headquartered in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Its principal subsidiary, Peoples Security Bank and Trust Company, provides community banking services to individuals, families, businesses and institutions.

The company offers deposit products, residential and commercial real estate lending, consumer loans, business loans and other financing solutions. Its services also include cash management and treasury services, online and mobile banking, trust and wealth management, investment services and insurance-related offerings.

Peoples Security Bank and Trust serves communities primarily in northeastern Pennsylvania and portions of southern New York through a network of banking offices and digital channels.

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