Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 111,700 shares, a growth of 17.1% from the April 30th total of 95,400 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 22,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.0 days.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Down 1.9%

Peoples Financial Services stock traded down $0.90 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $47.40. 12,117 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 24,440. Peoples Financial Services has a one year low of $37.68 and a one year high of $59.70. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $45.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $473.76 million, a PE ratio of 41.95 and a beta of 0.70.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $62.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.35 million. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 8.97% and a net margin of 3.70%. On average, research analysts forecast that Peoples Financial Services will post 5.92 EPS for the current year.

Peoples Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.6175 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $2.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.21%. Peoples Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.96%.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Financial Services

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PFIS. Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new stake in Peoples Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $126,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth about $203,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Peoples Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $239,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,513 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. 31.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.