Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

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

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on PFIS. Stephens decreased their price objective on Peoples Financial Services from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 13th. Hovde Group decreased their price objective on Peoples Financial Services from $48.00 to $43.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Up 3.4 %

NASDAQ:PFIS opened at $43.60 on Tuesday. Peoples Financial Services has a twelve month low of $36.26 and a twelve month high of $49.99. The company has a market cap of $307.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.37 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.77. 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 (NASDAQ:PFIS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 7.52% and a net margin of 13.81%. The business had revenue of $22.72 million during the quarter. Analysts anticipate that Peoples Financial Services will post 3.16 EPS for the current year.

Peoples Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFIS. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in 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 worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,589 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $182,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $281,000. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. bought a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the third quarter worth about $333,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $355,000. 31.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.