Richard S. Lochen, Jr. Acquires 1,000 Shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) Stock

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) Director Richard S. Lochen, Jr. acquired 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $47.12 per share, with a total value of $47,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $807,118.48. This trade represents a 6.20 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of PFIS traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $46.87. 17,231 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 27,453. Peoples Financial Services Corp. has a 12-month low of $36.26 and a 12-month high of $59.70. The company has a market cap of $468.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.48 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.76. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.17). Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 8.97% and a net margin of 3.70%. Research analysts forecast that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 5.92 EPS for the current year.

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Peoples Financial Services Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.6175 dividend. This represents a $2.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Peoples Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is 218.58%.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Financial Services

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in Peoples Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $126,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in Peoples Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $239,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Peoples Financial Services by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,279 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P raised its position in Peoples Financial Services by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 5,373 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.67% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PFIS. Hovde Group raised their price target on Peoples Financial Services from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Stephens raised Peoples Financial Services from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

Peoples Financial Services Company 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.