Peoples Financial (PFBX) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $99.23M
• Dividend Yield: 1.76%
• Average Volume (3M): 613.00
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 32.8
• Beta (1Y): 0.11
• Revenue Growth: -7.99%
• EPS Growth: -78.22%
• Country: US
• Employees: 131
• Sector: Financial
• Sector Strength: 70
• Industry: Banks - Regional
• EPS (TTM): N/A
• Shares Outstanding: 4,617,466
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 158
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 613
• PEG Ratio: -0.29
• Price to Book (P/B): 0.12
• Price to Sales (P/S): 3.42
• P/FCF Ratio: 20.88
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 0.83
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 3.01
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 3.01
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 13.60
• 1Y Price Target: N/A
• Price Target Upside: N/A
• Rating Consensus: N/A
• Number of Analyst Covering: 0
• EPS Forecast (FY): N/A
• Revenue Forecast (FY): N/A

• Rating: 58 Neutral
• Price Target: $22.50 ▲(9.12% Upside)
• Action: Reiterated Date: 03/19/26
• Date: Action: Reiterated 03/19/26

The score is primarily driven by mixed financial performance: solid profitability and cash generation but weakened 2025 revenue/profitability and volatile equity/returns. Technicals are moderately supportive with price above key moving averages and positive MACD. Valuation is the main drag due to a high P/E and only modest dividend yield.

Positive Factors

Traditional community banking revenue model

The company’s core business—collecting interest and fees on loans and investment securities while funding with customer deposits—is a durable, predictable revenue model. For a community bank this supports stable net interest income and recurring fee income that remain relevant across rate cycles.

Consistent cash generation and positive FCF

Sustained positive operating cash flow and free cash flow each year indicate the franchise generates real cash to fund operations, loan growth, and shareholder returns. Even with variability, recurring cash generation reduces reliance on external financing and supports medium-term stability.

Modest leverage and limited reported debt

A low reported debt profile and modest leverage provide financial flexibility and lower solvency risk versus more highly leveraged peers. This conservatism supports resilience through economic cycles and preserves capacity to support lending or absorb credit shocks over the coming months.

Negative Factors

Sharp 2025 revenue decline

A ~23% revenue drop in the most recent year signals weakened core business momentum that may persist without clear drivers of recovery. Lower top-line directly pressures margins, provisioning capacity, and the bank’s ability to grow loans or invest in branches and technology over the medium term.

Volatile equity and ROE performance

Large swings in reported equity and a collapse in ROE reduce predictability of shareholder returns and complicate capital planning. This volatility can constrain dividend policy, raise capital-raising risk, and signal inconsistent profitability drivers that matter structurally over several quarters.

Inconsistent free cash flow growth

Although FCF is positive, its multi-year inconsistency and declines in recent years limit the reliability of internally generated funding for lending or shareholder distributions. Variable cash conversion increases dependence on deposit stability and raises medium-term funding and liquidity planning risk.

Peoples Financial Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Peoples Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for The Peoples Bank that provides banking, financial, and trust services to government entities, individuals, and small and commercial businesses in Mississippi. It accepts various deposits, such as interest and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). The company also offers business, commercial, real estate, construction, personal, and instalment loans; and personal trust, agencies, and estate services, including living and testamentary trusts, executorships, guardianships, and conservatorships. In addition, it provides self-directed IRAs; and escrow management, stock transfer, and bond paying agency accounts to corporate customers. Further, the company offers various other services consisting of safe deposit box rental, wire transfer, night drop facilities, collection, cash management, and internet banking services. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated through 17 branches located in Harrison, Hancock, Jackson, and Stone counties. It also has 28 automated teller machines at its branch locations, as well as other off-site and non-proprietary locations. The company was founded in 1896 and is headquartered in Biloxi, Mississippi.

How the Company Makes Money

Peoples Financial primarily earns money through traditional community banking activities. A key revenue stream is net interest income: the bank collects interest and fees on loans (such as commercial real estate, commercial, residential mortgage, and consumer loans) and on investment securities, and pays interest on funding sources such as customer deposits and, when used, other borrowings; the spread between these yields and costs (adjusted for the size and mix of earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities) drives a large portion of earnings. The company also generates noninterest income from banking fees and service charges (for example, deposit account-related fees and other customer service fees) and from other banking-related income sources disclosed in its financial reporting. Profitability is also influenced by credit performance (provision for credit losses on loans), balance sheet growth and mix (loan growth vs. securities, deposit mix), and the interest-rate environment, which affects both loan yields and deposit/borrowing costs. Specific material partnerships or non-banking revenue dependencies are null.

Peoples Financial Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Multi-year profitability recovery with generally positive operating cash flow and free cash flow, plus limited reported debt. Offsetting this are a sharp 2025 revenue decline (~23% YoY), a notable step-down in net margin versus 2024, and large swings in reported equity/ROE that reduce predictability.

Income Statement

Profitability improved materially after the 2020 loss, with consistently positive earnings through 2025 and solid operating margins in most years. However, the latest year shows a sharp revenue decline (2025 revenue down ~23% year-over-year) and a much lower net margin (~14% in 2025 versus unusually high profitability in 2024), signaling weaker momentum and higher earnings volatility.

Balance Sheet

Leverage appears modest based on reported debt, with debt-to-equity at or near zero in most years and only moderate leverage in 2023. The key concern is consistency/quality of the equity profile: reported equity swings dramatically (e.g., 2024 vs. 2025), and returns on equity drop to very low levels in 2025 after strong 2024 results, which raises questions about sustainability and stability of shareholder returns.

Cash Flow

Cash generation is generally supportive, with positive operating cash flow and free cash flow each year shown, and free cash flow roughly matching net income in 2025. Offsetting this, free cash flow growth is inconsistent (declines in multiple years including 2024 and 2025), and cash flow coverage of earnings is not consistently strong given the variability in profits across the period.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	27.51M	39.45M	38.90M	30.10M	26.41M
Gross Profit	27.51M	29.97M	33.02M	27.86M	31.25M
EBITDA	4.81M	10.12M	12.90M	8.20M	10.65M
Net Income	3.91M	21.70M	9.17M	8.94M	8.91M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	778.79M	831.85M	797.74M	861.64M	818.95M
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	14.24M	416.39M	362.27M	383.00M	426.79M
Total Debt	0.00	0.00	18.50M	0.00	889.00K
Total Liabilities	682.93M	741.85M	728.46M	806.45M	727.22M
Stockholders Equity	778.79M	90.00M	69.28M	55.19M	91.73M
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	4.50M	5.06M	6.51M	5.74M	2.64M
Operating Cash Flow	4.50M	6.03M	9.05M	7.91M	4.58M
Investing Cash Flow	24.50M	68.01M	62.38M	-104.23M	-196.25M
Financing Cash Flow	-117.16M	10.91M	-81.47M	79.16M	150.11M

Peoples Financial Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Positive
• Last Price: 20.62
• 50DMA: Positive
• 100DMA: Positive
• 200DMA: Positive
• MACD: Positive
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For PFBX, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 20.62 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 21.25, below the 50-day MA of 20.93, and above the 200-day MA of 20.26, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 0.10 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 59.38 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 66.00 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for PFBX.

Peoples Financial Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
LSBK	78 Outperform	$112.45M	14.10	7.04%	2.12%	2.27%	66.15%
AUBN	69 Neutral	$86.85M	12.98	8.33%	4.16%	24.17%	739.42%
Sector *	68 Neutral	$18.00B	11.42	9.92%	3.81%	9.73%	1.22%
IROQ	62 Neutral	$88.98M	16.46	6.22%	1.48%	1.93%	157.35%
PFBX	58 Neutral	$99.23M	32.83	4.81%	1.76%	-7.99%	-78.22%
PBHC	54 Neutral	$81.38M	-25.99	-2.75%	2.86%	0.84%	―