It's Unlikely That Shareholders Will Increase Peoples Financial Services Corp.'s (NASDAQ:PFIS) Compensation By Much This Year

Under the guidance of CEO Craig Best, Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) has performed reasonably well recently. As shareholders go into the upcoming AGM on 15 May 2021, CEO compensation will probably not be their focus, but rather the steps management will take to continue the growth momentum. Based on our analysis of the data below, we think CEO compensation seems reasonable for now.

Check out our latest analysis for Peoples Financial Services

How Does Total Compensation For Craig Best Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

Our data indicates that Peoples Financial Services Corp. has a market capitalization of US$314m, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as US$979k for the year to December 2020. Notably, that's an increase of 19% over the year before. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at US$440k.

For comparison, other companies in the same industry with market capitalizations ranging between US$200m and US$800m had a median total CEO compensation of US$1.1m. So it looks like Peoples Financial Services compensates Craig Best in line with the median for the industry. Moreover, Craig Best also holds US$1.2m worth of Peoples Financial Services stock directly under their own name.

Component

2020

2019

Proportion (2020)

Salary

US$440k

US$440k

45%

Other

US$540k

US$381k

55%

Total Compensation

US$979k

US$820k

100%

Talking in terms of the industry, salary represented approximately 42% of total compensation out of all the companies we analyzed, while other remuneration made up 58% of the pie. Peoples Financial Services is largely mirroring the industry average when it comes to the share a salary enjoys in overall compensation. If total compensation is slanted towards non-salary benefits, it indicates that CEO pay is linked to company performance.

ceo-compensation
ceo-compensation

Peoples Financial Services Corp.'s Growth

Peoples Financial Services Corp. has seen its earnings per share (EPS) increase by 21% a year over the past three years. It achieved revenue growth of 13% over the last year.

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. This sort of respectable year-on-year revenue growth is often seen at a healthy, growing business. While we don't have analyst forecasts for the company, shareholders might want to examine this detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Has Peoples Financial Services Corp. Been A Good Investment?

With a total shareholder return of 3.1% over three years, Peoples Financial Services Corp. has done okay by shareholders, but there's always room for improvement. In light of that, investors might probably want to see an improvement on their returns before they feel generous about increasing the CEO remuneration.

To Conclude...

Given that the company's overall performance has been reasonable, the CEO remuneration policy might not be shareholders' central point of focus in the upcoming AGM. In saying that, any proposed increase to CEO compensation will still be assessed on how reasonable it is based on performance and industry benchmarks.

CEO compensation can have a massive impact on performance, but it's just one element. We've identified 1 warning sign for Peoples Financial Services that investors should be aware of in a dynamic business environment.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a different set of stocks. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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