Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Peoples Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.00.

Peoples Financial Services Trading Up 0.9%

PFIS stock opened at $44.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $49.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.09. Peoples Financial Services has a one year low of $38.90 and a one year high of $59.70. The stock has a market cap of $449.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.41 and a beta of 0.78.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $3.19. Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 11.80% and a return on equity of 12.20%. The firm had revenue of $140.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.00 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Peoples Financial Services will post 5.92 EPS for the current year.

Peoples Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th will be given a $0.6175 dividend. This represents a $2.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 28th. Peoples Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 29.16%.

Insider Activity

In other Peoples Financial Services news, Director Richard S. Lochen, Jr. bought 1,000 shares of Peoples Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $47.67 per share, with a total value of $47,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,319 shares in the company, valued at $873,266.73. The trade was a 5.77% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 8.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFIS. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the first quarter valued at about $2,641,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the second quarter valued at about $1,993,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the first quarter valued at about $1,259,000. Cutler Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Peoples Financial Services in the first quarter valued at about $1,243,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 5.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 231,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,430,000 after purchasing an additional 12,447 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

About Peoples Financial Services

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.