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

Key Points

• Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ: PFIS) hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $68.95 and last around $69.33, up about 2.6% on the day.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Weiss Ratings reiterated a Buy, while Hovde Group raised its price target to $61 but kept a Market Perform rating. The consensus rating remains Hold with an average target price of $58.50.
• The company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.625 per share, or $2.50 annualized, for a yield of about 3.6%, while its latest earnings beat on revenue but missed EPS estimates.

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $68.95 and last traded at $69.3250, with a volume of 2717 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $67.74.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Peoples Financial Services Trading Up 2.6%

The firm has a market cap of $696.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.70 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $62.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.63.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.54 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $92.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.95 million. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 18.06% and a net margin of 21.29%.

Peoples Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. Peoples Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 44.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,198 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 2,538 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 4.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,513 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 7.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 40,651 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,808,000 after acquiring an additional 2,679 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the first quarter valued at about $467,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 4.5% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 13,842 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.