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

Key Points

• Peoples Financial Services shares rose 1.6% to $67.91 amid elevated trading volume, though volume declined 24% from the prior session.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $65.50; the stock recently missed quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.48 per share versus $1.64 forecast.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.625, equivalent to $2.50 annually and a 3.7% yield, while institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.67% of outstanding shares.

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday. Approximately 39,537 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 24% from the previous session's volume of 52,318 shares. The stock last traded at $67.9050 and had previously closed at $67.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on PFIS shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Peoples Financial Services in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Peoples Financial Services to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Hovde Group increased their target price on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $65.50.

Peoples Financial Services Trading Up 1.6%

The business has a 50-day moving average of $70.19 and a 200-day moving average of $64.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $683.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.74 and a beta of 0.75.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.16). Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 17.27% and a net margin of 20.66%. The firm had revenue of $97.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.35 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Peoples Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a $0.6250 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Peoples Financial Services's payout ratio is presently 28.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFIS. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Peoples Financial Services by 0.5% during the second quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 44,933 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,982,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Peoples Financial Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 116.0% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,527 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 2,968 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in Peoples Financial Services in the second quarter worth approximately $201,000. Finally, Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Peoples Financial Services in the second quarter worth approximately $215,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.67% of the company's stock.

About Peoples Financial Services

Peoples Financial Services Corp. is a bank holding company headquartered in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Its principal subsidiary, Peoples Security Bank and Trust Company, provides community banking services to individuals, families, businesses and institutions.

The company offers deposit products, residential and commercial real estate lending, consumer loans, business loans and other financing solutions. Its services also include cash management and treasury services, online and mobile banking, trust and wealth management, investment services and insurance-related offerings.

Peoples Security Bank and Trust serves communities primarily in northeastern Pennsylvania and portions of southern New York through a network of banking offices and digital channels.

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