Peoples Financial Services Corp. $PFIS Shares Sold by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC cut its holdings in Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) by 7.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 605 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned about 0.07% of Peoples Financial Services worth $392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Peoples Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,641,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth $1,259,000. Cutler Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Peoples Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth about $1,243,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 67,838.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 12,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Peoples Financial Services in the first quarter valued at about $467,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Up 0.2%

PFIS stock opened at $48.00 on Tuesday. Peoples Financial Services Corp. has a one year low of $38.90 and a one year high of $59.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $50.62 and its 200 day moving average is $48.50. The firm has a market cap of $479.52 million, a PE ratio of 14.33 and a beta of 0.78.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $48.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.75 million. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 11.80%. On average, research analysts forecast that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 5.92 EPS for the current year.

Peoples Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a $0.6175 dividend. This represents a $2.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Peoples Financial Services

In related news, Director Richard S. Lochen, Jr. acquired 1,000 shares of Peoples Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $47.67 per share, for a total transaction of $47,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,319 shares in the company, valued at $873,266.73. This represents a 5.77% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PFIS shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Peoples Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Peoples Financial Services in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Peoples Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Peoples Financial Services 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.