Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Buy" Rating

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Peoples Financial Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in their latest report.
• The company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations by $0.21, with revenues of $48.44 million.
• Institutional investors currently hold 31.67% of Peoples Financial Services stock, with significant investments from firms like Stoneridge Investment Partners and MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Performance

PFIS traded up $0.33 during trading on Friday, reaching $47.82. 7,924 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 25,920. Peoples Financial Services has a 1 year low of $38.90 and a 1 year high of $59.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $478.20 million, a P/E ratio of 14.27 and a beta of 0.79. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $49.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.03.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 11.80% and a return on equity of 12.32%. As a group, research analysts predict that Peoples Financial Services will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.6175 per share. This represents a $2.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Peoples Financial Services's payout ratio is 73.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Peoples Financial Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,641,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,259,000. Cutler Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,243,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 69.3% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 34,612 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,771,000 after acquiring an additional 14,170 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $544,000 after acquiring an additional 12,211 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.67% of the company's stock.

Peoples Financial Services Company Profile

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.