Hoey Investments Inc. Invests $126,000 in Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS)

Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $126,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 5.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares in the last quarter. RBF Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Peoples Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $342,000. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 60.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 12,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $577,000 after buying an additional 4,627 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 181,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,516,000 after buying an additional 11,236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 304.8% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Peoples Financial Services Price Performance

Peoples Financial Services stock opened at $44.73 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $447.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.58 and a beta of 0.56. Peoples Financial Services Corp. has a 52-week low of $36.26 and a 52-week high of $59.70.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.6175 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.52%. Peoples Financial Services’s payout ratio is 218.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Richard S. Lochen, Jr. acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $807,118.48. This trade represents a 6.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.