Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Cut to Equal Weight at Stephens

Stephens lowered shares of Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report released on Monday, Marketbeat reports. Stephens currently has $50.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Hovde Group lowered their price target on Peoples Financial Services from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Peoples Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Peoples Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.00.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PFIS opened at $51.74 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $516.88 million, a PE ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Peoples Financial Services has a 12-month low of $38.90 and a 12-month high of $57.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $47.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.39.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $3.19. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 20.17%.The company had revenue of $65.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.00 million. Research analysts anticipate that Peoples Financial Services will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th will be issued a $0.6175 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 28th. This represents a $2.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.16%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFIS. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services in the 1st quarter valued at $1,259,000. Cutler Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the first quarter valued at about $1,243,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Peoples Financial Services by 1.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 495,001 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,013,000 after purchasing an additional 6,935 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Peoples Financial Services in the first quarter worth about $2,641,000. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in Peoples Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,993,000. 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.