Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) Short Interest Update

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 132,487 shares, an increase of 22.4% from the February 12th total of 108,247 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 23,421 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.7 days. Based on an average trading volume of 23,421 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.7 days. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Peoples Financial Services Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of PFIS stock opened at $51.86 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $518.08 million, a P/E ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business’s 50 day moving average is $53.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.54. Peoples Financial Services has a twelve month low of $38.90 and a twelve month high of $57.71.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.16). Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 18.84% and a net margin of 21.50%.The company had revenue of $89.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.25 million. Equities analysts forecast that Peoples Financial Services will post 5.92 EPS for the current year.

Peoples Financial Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.625 dividend. This is a boost from Peoples Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 1,338.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Peoples Financial Services during the second quarter worth $44,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in Peoples Financial Services by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in Peoples Financial Services by 434.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 786 shares in the last quarter. 31.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Peoples Financial Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Peoples Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

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.