Empowered Funds LLC Sells 7,373 Shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS)

Empowered Funds LLC decreased its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS - Free Report) by 16.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,972 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,373 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.38% of Peoples Financial Services worth $1,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 377.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,442 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $958,000 after acquiring an additional 16,164 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 304.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 12,270 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $576,000 after acquiring an additional 9,239 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 14.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 211,451 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,914,000 after purchasing an additional 27,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in Peoples Financial Services by 6.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 181,656 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,516,000 after purchasing an additional 11,236 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 31.67% of the company's stock.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Performance

PFIS traded down $0.84 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $50.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 45,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,122. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $51.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.35. The firm has a market cap of $509.32 million, a PE ratio of 45.12 and a beta of 0.56. Peoples Financial Services Corp. has a one year low of $36.26 and a one year high of $59.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.17). Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 8.97% and a net margin of 3.70%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 5.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.6175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.84%. Peoples Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 218.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Hovde Group lifted their target price on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com raised 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 report on Monday, December 9th.

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.