Insider Buying: Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) Director Purchases 1,000 Shares of Stock

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) Director Richard S. Lochen, Jr. purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $47.12 per share, for a total transaction of $47,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,129 shares in the company, valued at $807,118.48. This trade represents a 6.20 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Peoples Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of PFIS stock traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $47.05. 9,973 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 27,264. Peoples Financial Services Corp. has a 52-week low of $36.26 and a 52-week high of $59.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $470.21 million, a PE ratio of 41.63 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $50.29 and a 200 day moving average of $49.72.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.17). Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 8.97% and a net margin of 3.70%. Research analysts anticipate that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Peoples Financial Services Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.6175 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.25%. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 218.58%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in Peoples Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at $239,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 28,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,449,000 after buying an additional 1,464 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 7,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 1,864 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 35.1% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 8,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 2,129 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PFIS. StockNews.com upgraded Peoples Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Stephens upgraded Peoples Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Hovde Group lifted their target price on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th.

About Peoples Financial Services

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.