Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Downgraded to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Friday.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of PFIS stock opened at $46.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Peoples Financial Services has a 12 month low of $36.26 and a 12 month high of $51.00. The company has a market cap of $331.11 million, a P/E ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $46.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.32.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.07. Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 5.93%. The firm had revenue of $41.92 million during the quarter. Sell-side analysts predict that Peoples Financial Services will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a $0.618 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.27%. This is a boost from Peoples Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard S. Lochen, Jr. purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $43.90 per share, with a total value of $43,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $682,864.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have purchased 1,604 shares of company stock worth $73,008 over the last three months. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Financial Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 7.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 26,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,925 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 46.7% during the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 10,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 3,409 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 87.7% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after buying an additional 1,589 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Peoples Financial Services by 19.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 47,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,148,000 after buying an additional 7,831 shares during the period. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in Peoples Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $281,000. 31.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.