Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Hits New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• New 52-week high: PFIS traded as high as $58.59 (last $58.74) on Friday, up about 3% on the day, with a market cap around $584 million and 50/200-day moving averages near $54.59/$50.96.
• Mixed analyst view: Weiss Ratings upgraded PFIS to a Buy and Stephens raised its $56 target, but the consensus remains a Hold with an average target of $53.
• Dividend and fundamentals: The firm raised its quarterly dividend to $0.625 (annualized $2.50, ~4.3% yield) and shows strong profitability (ROE 18.6%, PE 6.49) despite missing quarterly EPS ($1.36 vs. $1.52) while posting revenue above expectations.

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $58.59 and last traded at $58.7420, with a volume of 42250 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $56.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Peoples Financial Services Stock Up 3.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $584.40 million, a PE ratio of 6.49 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.96.

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

Peoples Financial Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This is an increase from Peoples Financial Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. Peoples Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is 27.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 1,338.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 863 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 941 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 434.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 967 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 31.67% of the company's stock.

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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