Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Share Price Passes Below 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) shares crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $48.30 and traded as low as $48.17. Peoples Financial Services shares last traded at $48.51, with a volume of 16,654 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFIS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens raised shares of Peoples Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Peoples Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Hovde Group lifted their price target on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Down 3.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $468.57 million, a P/E ratio of 45.52 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $52.71 and its 200 day moving average is $48.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $74.01 million for the quarter. Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 7.73%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 4.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.618 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $2.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.27%. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 239.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Peoples Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $149,000. RBF Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Peoples Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $342,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 8,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 304.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 12,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 9,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 60.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 12,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 4,627 shares during the last quarter. 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.