Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Stock Crosses Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS)’s stock price passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $49.74 and traded as low as $45.51. Peoples Financial Services shares last traded at $45.84, with a volume of 15,343 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Stephens raised Peoples Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th.

Peoples Financial Services Trading Up 1.8 %

The business has a fifty day moving average of $49.53 and a 200-day moving average of $49.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $460.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.76 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.6175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.36%. Peoples Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 218.58%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard S. Lochen, Jr. bought 1,000 shares of Peoples Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $47.12 per share, for a total transaction of $47,120.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 17,129 shares in the company, valued at $807,118.48. This trade represents a 6.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFIS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Peoples Financial Services by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 232,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,876,000 after buying an additional 9,889 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 14.9% in the third 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 boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 11,236 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 82,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 52,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,666,000 after acquiring an additional 8,911 shares during the period. 31.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.