Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) Position Boosted by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS - Free Report) by 304.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 12,270 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,239 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned about 0.12% of Peoples Financial Services worth $576,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Peoples Financial Services by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 211,451 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,914,000 after purchasing an additional 27,463 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 6.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 181,656 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,516,000 after acquiring an additional 11,236 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 60.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 12,308 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $577,000 after acquiring an additional 4,627 shares in the last quarter. RBF Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Peoples Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $342,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,641 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,202,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.67% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on PFIS. Hovde Group raised their price objective on Peoples Financial Services from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Peoples Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Stephens raised Peoples Financial Services from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Up 0.9 %

Peoples Financial Services stock traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $50.43. 97,682 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 35,898. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $52.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.56. The firm has a market cap of $503.80 million, a P/E ratio of 48.96 and a beta of 0.56. Peoples Financial Services Corp. has a 1 year low of $36.26 and a 1 year high of $59.70.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.56. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 7.73% and a net margin of 3.00%. The business had revenue of $74.01 million for the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.618 per share. This represents a $2.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Peoples Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 239.81%.

Peoples Financial Services Profile

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.