Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Price Target Raised to $61.00 at Hovde Group

Key Points

• Hovde Group raised its price target for Peoples Financial Services to $61 (from $59) and kept a "market perform" rating, implying roughly a 7.6% upside from the current share price.
• Analyst views are mixed: Stephens bumped its target to $56 with an "equal weight" call and Weiss Ratings upgraded PFIS to a "buy", but the consensus rating remains Hold with a $58.50 consensus target.
• In the latest quarter PFIS reported EPS of $1.43, missing estimates by $0.11, while revenue unexpectedly came in at $92.63M; the bank shows solid profitability (ROE 18.21%, net margin 21.29%) and a low P/E of 6.28.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by equities researchers at Hovde Group from $59.00 to $61.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday. The firm presently has a "market perform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Hovde Group's price objective suggests a potential upside of 7.56% from the stock's current price.

PFIS has been the subject of several other research reports. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Peoples Financial Services from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $58.50.

Peoples Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PFIS opened at $56.71 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. Peoples Financial Services has a 1 year low of $43.64 and a 1 year high of $59.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $567.67 million, a P/E ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.71.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by ($0.11). Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 21.29%.The firm had revenue of $92.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $49.95 million.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 429.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 33,886 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,647,000 after buying an additional 27,489 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 298,966 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,563,000 after buying an additional 14,333 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Peoples Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $467,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Peoples Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $354,000. Finally, Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 44,797 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,182,000 after buying an additional 7,159 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 31.67% of the company's stock.

Peoples Financial Services Company Profile

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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