Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Sees Large Volume Increase - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Trading volume increased 10% to approximately 55,595 shares, while PFIS shares fell to $69.72 from the prior close of $71.11.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: one analyst rates the stock Buy and two rate it Hold, producing an average Hold rating and a consensus price target of $58.50—below the recent trading price.
• Peoples Financial Services missed quarterly expectations, reporting $1.48 in EPS versus $1.64 expected and $52.14 million in revenue versus $52.35 million expected, despite an 18.06% return on equity and 21.29% net margin.

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 55,595 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 10% from the previous session's volume of 50,528 shares.The stock last traded at $69.7160 and had previously closed at $71.11.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on Peoples Financial Services from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Peoples Financial Services in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $58.50.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $697.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.72 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.16). Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 18.06% and a net margin of 21.29%.The company had revenue of $52.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $52.35 million.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Financial Services

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PFIS. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,559 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 44,933 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,982,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 4.4% in 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. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 59.1% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 969 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. 31.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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