Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) experienced a 69% increase in trading volume, with 44,233 shares traded recently compared to 26,113 shares in the prior session.
• The stock was upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, with a consensus price target set at $53.00.
• Peoples Financial Services announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6175, yielding 4.7%, which will be paid on September 15th to investors of record on August 29th.

Shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 44,233 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 69% from the previous session's volume of 26,113 shares.The stock last traded at $52.58 and had previously closed at $52.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded Peoples Financial Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $528.62 million, a P/E ratio of 15.76 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $51.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.02.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $48.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.75 million. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 11.80%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $0.6175 dividend. This represents a $2.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Peoples Financial Services's payout ratio is currently 73.73%.

Insider Activity at Peoples Financial Services

In other Peoples Financial Services news, Director Richard S. Lochen, Jr. purchased 1,000 shares of Peoples Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $47.67 per share, for a total transaction of $47,670.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 18,319 shares in the company, valued at $873,266.73. This represents a 5.77% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 8.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 67,838.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,229 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 12,211 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 8,193 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 2,129 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth $1,259,000. Cutler Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Peoples Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth about $1,243,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Peoples Financial Services by 35.1% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,946 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 2,066 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 31.67% of the company's stock.

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.

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