Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Stock Price Passes Above 50 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $50.89 and traded as high as $56.13. Peoples Financial Services shares last traded at $55.22, with a volume of 19,369 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PFIS. Wall Street Zen cut Peoples Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Stephens set a $50.00 target price on Peoples Financial Services and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Peoples Financial Services in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Hovde Group lowered their price objective on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.00.

Peoples Financial Services Trading Down 1.6%

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $50.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $551.65 million, a P/E ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $89.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.25 million. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 18.84% and a net margin of 21.50%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This is an increase from Peoples Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. Peoples Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 27.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Peoples Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Peoples Financial Services by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 44,797 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,182,000 after purchasing an additional 7,159 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 2,420 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 48.2% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 21,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 6,873 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Peoples Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $213,000. Institutional investors own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

Peoples Financial Services Company Profile

Peoples Financial Services Corporation is the bank holding company for PeoplesBank, a community-focused commercial bank headquartered in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, PeoplesBank, PFIS offers a full suite of banking services to individuals, small businesses, and commercial clients. These services include deposit accounts, consumer and residential mortgage lending, commercial and industrial lending, and treasury management solutions.

Founded in 1842, PeoplesBank has grown organically and through selective acquisitions to become a prominent community bank in Western Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut.