Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Stock Price Crosses Above Fifty Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS)’s stock price passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $53.30 and traded as high as $53.64. Peoples Financial Services shares last traded at $52.76, with a volume of 49,462 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Peoples Financial Services Trading Up 2.4%

The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company’s fifty day moving average is $53.30 and its 200-day moving average is $50.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $527.60 million, a P/E ratio of 5.83 and a beta of 0.78.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last announced its 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). The firm had revenue of $89.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.25 million. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 21.50%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This is a boost from Peoples Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.62%.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Financial Services

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFIS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 298,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,563,000 after buying an additional 14,333 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 5.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 231,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,430,000 after buying an additional 12,447 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 73,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,595,000 after acquiring an additional 4,867 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 50,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,479,000 after acquiring an additional 4,867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC increased 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 worth $2,182,000 after acquiring an additional 7,159 shares during the period. 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.