Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS – Get Rating) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Performance

PFIS opened at $42.52 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $304.44 million, a P/E ratio of 8.05 and a beta of 0.25. The business’s fifty day moving average is $50.19 and its 200-day moving average is $51.37. Peoples Financial Services has a 52-week low of $41.44 and a 52-week high of $59.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Peoples Financial Services had a net margin of 30.92% and a return on equity of 12.73%. The firm had revenue of $25.64 million for the quarter. Sell-side analysts expect that Peoples Financial Services will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Financial Services

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Maltese Capital Management LLC grew its position in Peoples Financial Services by 12.5% in the second quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC now owns 101,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,655,000 after acquiring an additional 11,274 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 39.5% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in Peoples Financial Services by 57.0% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 3,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in Peoples Financial Services by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 30.21% of the company’s stock.

About Peoples Financial Services

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Peoples Financial Services Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Peoples Security Bank & Trust Co, which provides financial services to individuals, families, and businesses. It offers home equity loans and lines of credit, construction, commercial and other non-residential real estate loans, consumer loans, multifamily mortgage loans and other loans.