Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) EVP Sells 2,500 Shares of Company Stock

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) EVP Jeffrey Drobins sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.47, for a total value of $186,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $265,336.61. The trade was a 41.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Up 1.3%

PFIS traded up $0.91 during trading on Monday, reaching $73.15. 100,160 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 53,840. The stock has a market cap of $732.23 million, a P/E ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.77. Peoples Financial Services Corp. has a twelve month low of $46.00 and a twelve month high of $76.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $70.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $52.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $53.80 million. Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 20.51% and a return on equity of 11.76%. Equities analysts expect that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

Peoples Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.6250 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 30th. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFIS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Hovde Group lifted their target price on Peoples Financial Services from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research upgraded Peoples Financial Services to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Peoples Financial Services from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Peoples Financial Services has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.50.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Financial Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in Peoples Financial Services during the second quarter worth $201,000. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Peoples Financial Services during the second quarter worth $215,000. Man Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $233,000. Finally, Archer Investment Corp bought a new position in shares of Peoples Financial Services in the 1st quarter valued at $267,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

About Peoples Financial Services

Peoples Financial Services Corp. is the bank holding company for Peoples Security Bank and Trust Company, a community banking institution headquartered in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The bank provides financial services to individuals, businesses, nonprofit organizations and municipal customers.

Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential and commercial real estate loans, consumer lending, business loans, lines of credit and other treasury-management services.