Proficio Capital Partners LLC Invests $938,000 in Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 18,322 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $938,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned about 0.18% of Peoples Financial Services as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFIS. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. RBF Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Peoples Financial Services during the third quarter worth $342,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 304.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 12,270 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $576,000 after buying an additional 9,239 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 60.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 12,308 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $577,000 after buying an additional 4,627 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 13,182 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $675,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.67% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at Peoples Financial Services

In other Peoples Financial Services news, Director Richard S. Lochen, Jr. purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $47.12 per share, with a total value of $47,120.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $807,118.48. This represents a 6.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens upgraded Peoples Financial Services from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. 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 report on Monday, November 11th.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:PFIS traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $46.87. The company had a trading volume of 17,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,453. The firm has a market capitalization of $468.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.48 and a beta of 0.56. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $50.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.76. Peoples Financial Services Corp. has a 12-month low of $36.26 and a 12-month high of $59.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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

Peoples Financial Services Cuts Dividend

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

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.