Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Stock Price Crosses Above 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

by · The Markets Daily

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS – Get Free Report)’s stock price passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $48.23 and traded as high as $52.78. Peoples Financial Services shares last traded at $52.36, with a volume of 19,974 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens set a $50.00 target price on Peoples Financial Services and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Peoples Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Hovde Group reduced their price target on shares of 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. 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 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 a consensus price target of $50.00.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on PFIS

Peoples Financial Services Trading Down 2.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $510.89 million, a P/E ratio of 6.04 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $48.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.58.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $3.19. The firm had revenue of $65.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.00 million. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 20.17%. On average, analysts expect that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a dividend of $0.6175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $2.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Peoples Financial Services’s payout ratio is 29.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 1.4% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 3.9% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 284,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,836,000 after purchasing an additional 10,716 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in 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 raised its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 8.2% in the third quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 68,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,351,000 after buying an additional 5,237 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,641,000. 31.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Peoples Financial Services

(Get Free Report)

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.

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