Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Sets New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• New 52-week high: PFIS traded as high as $57.93 (last $57.03) on Wednesday, topping its prior close of $56.00 on light volume (~11,684 shares).
• Dividend increased: the firm paid a quarterly $0.625 dividend (annualized $2.50), implying a ~4.4% yield and a payout ratio of about 27.6%.
• Mixed analyst backdrop: Weiss Ratings upgraded PFIS to a "buy" and Stephens raised its target to $56, but the MarketBeat consensus remains a "Hold" with a $53 price target.

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $57.93 and last traded at $57.0270, with a volume of 11684 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFIS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Peoples Financial Services from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Stephens increased their target price on shares of 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Peoples Financial Services Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $569.54 million, a P/E ratio of 6.29 and a beta of 0.77. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $54.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

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

Peoples Financial Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. This is a positive change from Peoples Financial Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. Peoples Financial Services's payout ratio is 27.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 5.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 73,794 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,595,000 after buying an additional 4,867 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 50,894 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,479,000 after buying an additional 4,867 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 19.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 36,613 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,783,000 after buying an additional 4,460 shares in the last quarter. 31.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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