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

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

Peoples Financial Services Trading Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ:PFIS 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. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.32. Peoples Financial Services has a 12 month low of $36.26 and a 12 month high of $51.00. The company has a market capitalization of $331.11 million, a P/E ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 0.51.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.07. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.93% and a net margin of 10.07%. The business had revenue of $41.92 million for the quarter. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Peoples Financial Services will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Peoples Financial Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $0.618 dividend. This represents a $2.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This is a boost from Peoples Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Peoples Financial Services’s payout ratio is 75.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Peoples Financial Services

In other news, Director Richard S. Lochen, Jr. bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $43.90 per share, for a total transaction of $43,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $682,864.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 1,604 shares of company stock valued at $73,008. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 87.7% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in Peoples Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth $281,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Peoples Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $355,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 2.6% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 8,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 12,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $567,000 after buying an additional 1,576 shares in the last quarter. 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.