对比韦伯斯特金融（纽约证券交易所代码：WBS）和人民金融服务（纳斯达克股票代码：PFIS）

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS – Get Rating) and Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS – Get Rating) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends and institutional ownership.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

30.2% of Peoples Financial Services shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.9% of Webster Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 3.3% of Peoples Financial Services shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Webster Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Peoples Financial Services and Webster Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Peoples Financial Services presently has a consensus target price of $56.00, indicating a potential upside of 32.04%. Webster Financial has a consensus target price of $56.20, indicating a potential upside of 46.85%. Given Webster Financial's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Webster Financial is more favorable than Peoples Financial Services.

Profitability

This table compares Peoples Financial Services and Webster Financial's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Peoples Financial Services and Webster Financial's gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Webster Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Peoples Financial Services. Peoples Financial Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Webster Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Peoples Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $1.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Webster Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Peoples Financial Services pays out 31.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Webster Financial pays out 45.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Peoples Financial Services has raised its dividend for 7 consecutive years.

Volatility and Risk

Peoples Financial Services has a beta of 0.25, indicating that its stock price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Webster Financial has a beta of 1.24, indicating that its stock price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Webster Financial beats Peoples Financial Services on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Peoples Financial Services

(Get Rating)

Peoples Financial Services Corp. is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of financial services through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Peoples Security Bank and Trust Company. Its loan portfolio includes commercial and retail. The company was founded on February 6, 1986 and is headquartered in Scranton, PA.

About Webster Financial

(Get Rating)

Webster Financial Corp. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of financial services to individuals, families, and businesses. It operates through the following business segments: Commercial Banking, HSA Bank, and Retail Banking. The Commercial Banking segment includes commercial banking and private banking. The HSA Bank segment offers comprehensive consumer directed healthcare solutions. The Retail Banking segment consists of consumer lending and small business banking units. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Stamford, CT.

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