Hovde Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Stock

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) had its price objective raised by Hovde Group from $48.00 to $53.00 in a research note published on Monday, MarketBeat reports. Hovde Group currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Peoples Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

Peoples Financial Services Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ PFIS opened at $52.50 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $47.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.38. Peoples Financial Services has a 52-week low of $36.26 and a 52-week high of $55.64. The company has a market cap of $523.95 million, a PE ratio of 50.78 and a beta of 0.50.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $74.01 million during the quarter. Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 8.50%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Peoples Financial Services will post 3.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.618 per share. This represents a $2.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 239.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PFIS. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the third quarter valued at $149,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 87.7% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,589 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its position in Peoples Financial Services by 46.7% in the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 10,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $460,000 after buying an additional 3,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

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.