Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Share Price Crosses Above Fifty Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) shares passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.21 and traded as high as $64.42. Peoples Financial Services shares last traded at $64.24, with a volume of 49,314 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on PFIS. Hovde Group raised their price objective on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Peoples Financial Services in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One equities 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 company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.50.

Peoples Financial Services Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $59.36 and a 200-day moving average of $54.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $652.05 million, a P/E ratio of 7.21 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.54 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $92.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.95 million. Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 21.29% and a return on equity of 18.06%.

Peoples Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. Peoples Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFIS. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Peoples Financial Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Peoples Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 59.1% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Peoples Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. 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.