Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) Short Interest Update

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. Based on an average daily volume of 22,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.0 days. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ PFIS traded up $0.93 on Friday, reaching $48.49. 18,029 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 24,557. The firm has a market cap of $484.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.91 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $45.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.77. Peoples Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $37.68 and a fifty-two week high of $59.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93.

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

Peoples Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $2.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.09%. Peoples Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 115.96%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 35.1% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 8,193 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 2,129 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 69.3% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 34,612 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,771,000 after buying an additional 14,170 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $938,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury purchased a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $361,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 232,031 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,876,000 after buying an additional 9,889 shares in the last quarter. 31.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.