Peoples Financial Services (PFIS) Declares $0.41 Dividend

Peoples Financial Services said on January 27, 2023 that its board of directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share ($1.64 annualized). Shareholders of record as of February 27, 2023 will receive the payment on March 15, 2023. Previously, the company paid $0.40 per share.

At the current share price of $50.22 / share, the stock's dividend yield is 3.27%. Looking back five years and taking a sample every week, the average dividend yield has been 3.39%, the lowest has been 2.68%, and the highest has been 4.50%. The standard deviation of yields is 0.42 (n=148).

The current dividend yield is 0.31 standard deviations below the historical average.

Additionally, the company's dividend payout ratio is 0.30. The payout ratio tells us how much of a company's income is paid out in dividends. A payout ratio of one (1.0) means 100% of the company's income is paid in a dividend. A payout ratio greater than one means the company is dipping into savings in order to maintain its dividend - not a healthy situation. Companies with few growth prospects are expected to pay out most of their income in dividends, which typically means a payout ratio between 0.5 and 1.0. Companies with good growth prospects are expected to retain some earnings in order to invest in those growth prospects, which translates to a payout ratio of zero to 0.5.

The company's 3-Year dividend growth rate is 0.14%, demonstrating that it has increased its dividend over time.

Analyst Price Forecast Suggests 8.66% Upside

As of January 27, 2023, the average one-year price target for Peoples Financial Services is $54.57. The forecasts range from a low of $54.04 to a high of $56.18. The average price target represents an increase of 8.66% from its latest reported closing price of $50.22.

The projected annual revenue for Peoples Financial Services is $124MM, an increase of 14.61%. The projected annual EPS is $5.45, an increase of 2.54%.

Fund Sentiment

There are 187 funds or institutions reporting positions in Peoples Financial Services. This is a decrease of 6 owner(s) or 3.11%.

Average portfolio weight of all funds dedicated to US:PFIS is 0.0611%, a decrease of 30.1338%. Total shares owned by institutions decreased in the last three months by 3.15% to 2,468K shares.

What are large shareholders doing?

Peoples Financial Services holds 347,383 shares representing 4.85% ownership of the company. In it's prior filing, the firm reported owning 351,600 shares, representing a decrease of 1.21%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in PFIS by 41.76% over the last quarter.

VTSMX - Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares holds 179,285 shares representing 2.50% ownership of the company. No change in the last quarter.

IWM - iShares Russell 2000 ETF holds 154,913 shares representing 2.16% ownership of the company. In it's prior filing, the firm reported owning 163,310 shares, representing a decrease of 5.42%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in PFIS by 13.82% over the last quarter.

Geode Capital Management holds 117,975 shares representing 1.65% ownership of the company. In it's prior filing, the firm reported owning 116,224 shares, representing an increase of 1.48%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in PFIS by 11.84% over the last quarter.

Maltese Capital Management holds 96,292 shares representing 1.35% ownership of the company. In it's prior filing, the firm reported owning 101,274 shares, representing a decrease of 5.17%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in PFIS by 65.56% over the last quarter.

Peoples Financial Services Background Information
(This description is provided by the company.)

Peoples Financial Services Corp. is the parent company of Peoples Security Bank and Trust Company (the "Bank"), an independent community bank serving its retail and commercial customers through twenty-six full-service community banking offices located within the Bucks, Lackawanna, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Susquehanna, and Wyoming Counties in Pennsylvania and Broome County in New York. Each office, interdependent with the community, offers a comprehensive array of financial products and services to individuals, businesses, not-for-profit organizations and government entities. The Company's business philosophy includes offering direct access to senior management and other officers and providing friendly, informed and courteous service, local and timely.

This story originally appeared on Fintel.