Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Sets New 12-Month High - Here's Why

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $56.00 and last traded at $56.00, with a volume of 3844 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $54.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFIS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Peoples Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Hovde Group lifted their price target on shares of Peoples Financial Services from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th.

Peoples Financial Services Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.04. The firm has a market cap of $564.34 million, a PE ratio of 54.85 and a beta of 0.50.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $74.01 million for the quarter. Equities analysts anticipate that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.618 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $2.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.38%. Peoples Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is 239.81%.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Financial Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 87.7% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,589 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Peoples Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $149,000. RBF Capital LLC purchased a new position in Peoples Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $342,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 8,749 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 46.7% during the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 10,707 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 3,409 shares during the last quarter. 31.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.