Peoples (PPLL) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $109.50M
• Dividend Yield: 2.99%
• Average Volume (3M): 170.00
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 13.4
• Beta (1Y): 0.05
• Revenue Growth: N/A
• EPS Growth: N/A
• Country: US
• Employees: 72
• Sector: Financial
• Sector Strength: 70
• Industry: Banks - Regional
• EPS (TTM): 1.55
• Shares Outstanding: 1,813,551
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 50
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 170
• PEG Ratio: -2.43
• Price to Book (P/B): 0.53
• Price to Sales (P/S): 0.93
• P/FCF Ratio: 3.80
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 0.99
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 3.51
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 9.26
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 10.94
• 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: 73 Outperform
• Price Target: $69.00 ▲(18.19% Upside)

The score is primarily driven by solid financial performance (strong 2024 revenue acceleration and moderate leverage) tempered by margin compression and cash-flow volatility. Technicals add support with an uptrend across key moving averages and a positive MACD, while valuation is favorable with a reasonable P/E and ~3% dividend yield.

Positive Factors

Accelerating revenue growth

A sharp 2024 revenue acceleration indicates expanding core business traction and market penetration. Sustained higher top-line growth provides a larger base to absorb fixed costs, supports investment in products and branches, and improves long-term earnings potential if maintained.

Improving leverage and equity build

Material reduction in leverage increases financial flexibility and lowers refinancing and distress risk. A stronger capital base supports regulatory resilience for a regional bank, enables measured lending growth, and gives capacity for strategic investments or dividend continuity.

Consistent positive net income

Steady, positive net income over multiple years reflects an underlying profitable franchise and supports retained earnings growth. Persistent profitability aids capital accumulation, funds lending programs, and underpins longer-term shareholder distributions and reinvestment capacity.

Negative Factors

Margin compression

A sharp decline in margins erodes the firm's ability to convert revenue into earnings and weakens returns on equity. If structural (competition, rate mix, higher expenses), sustained compression limits reinvestment, dividend sustainability, and reduces shock absorbers for adverse cycles.

EBITDA dip and earnings quality volatility

A negative EBITDA year signals operating pressure or non-recurring costs that reduce core earnings reliability. Persistent volatility in operating profitability complicates forecasting, raises the bar for management to demonstrate sustainable cost control, and can impair internal funding.

Cash-flow volatility and weak 2024 operating cash

Volatile operating and free cash flow undermines the firm's ability to fund growth organically, support dividends, or absorb shocks without external financing. Low 2024 operating cash relative to assets suggests working-capital or timing issues that can persistently strain liquidity planning.

Peoples Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Peoples Ltd. operates as the holding company for PS Bank that provides various financial services to individuals, small businesses, and corporate customers in Pennsylvania, the United States. It offers savings, checking, money market, business checking, NOW checking, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides auto and personal, business, commercial, home equity, and home equity line of credit loan products, as well as mortgages and credit cards. In addition, the company offers business services comprising online cash management, credit card processing, remote deposit capture, and positive pay; investments and insurance products; and retirement planning services, as well as mobile and online banking services. It operates through eight branches in the Bradford, Sullivan, Wyoming, and Lackawanna counties of Pennsylvania. Peoples Ltd. was founded in 1914 and is based in Wyalusing, Pennsylvania.

How the Company Makes Money

Peoples generates revenue primarily through the distribution and sale of natural gas to customers across various segments including residential, commercial, and industrial sectors. The company charges customers for the natural gas they consume, which is typically measured in cubic feet or therms. Additional revenue streams include service fees for maintenance and installation of gas-related infrastructure and appliances. Peoples may also enter into partnerships with other energy companies to expand its service offerings and geographic reach, enhancing its revenue potential.

Peoples Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Income statement strength is supported by sharply accelerating 2024 revenue growth and consistently positive net income, but profitability weakened with net margin compressing into the low-20% range and an EBITDA dip in 2023. Balance sheet leverage improved materially over time (lower debt-to-equity) with equity building, though ROE has trended down and debt ticked up in 2024. Cash flow is generally supportive but notably volatile, including a prior year of negative free cash flow and uneven operating cash flow.

Income Statement

Revenue growth accelerated sharply in 2024 (up ~40% versus low-single-digit growth in 2022–2023), while profitability remained solid with a ~23% net margin in 2024. Net income has been relatively steady (roughly $5.2M–$7.3M over 2020–2024), but margins have compressed from the mid/high-30% range in 2021–2023 to the low-20% range in 2024, and EBITDA was negative in 2023, indicating some earnings quality/expense volatility.

Balance Sheet

Leverage looks moderate for the period shown, with debt-to-equity moving down meaningfully from ~0.51 in 2020 to ~0.24 in 2024, and equity building over time. Returns on equity are healthy but trending lower (about ~17% in 2022 down to ~13% in 2024), suggesting profitability is not keeping pace with the expanding equity base. Total assets are sizable and generally rising, but the uptick in debt in 2024 versus 2023 is a watch item.

Cash Flow

Cash generation is generally supportive, with positive free cash flow in most years and free cash flow running close to net income in 2023–2024 (about ~0.91x). However, cash flow has been more volatile than earnings: free cash flow was negative in 2019, operating cash flow swung materially across years, and 2024 shows a low level of operating cash flow relative to the balance sheet (based on the provided coverage ratio), which suggests working-capital or timing effects can meaningfully impact reported cash performance.

Breakdown	TTM	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021	Dec 2020
Income Statement
Total Revenue	30.94M	31.23M	20.28M	18.92M	19.99M	20.22M
Gross Profit	11.73M	21.22M	26.68M	18.44M	18.23M	20.22M
EBITDA	9.93M	8.84M	-228.00K	9.24M	8.99M	6.78M
Net Income	8.08M	7.21M	7.30M	6.96M	6.83M	5.20M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	616.22M	581.95M	532.30M	546.40M	477.30M	443.45M
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	0.00	0.00	25.77M	73.02M	63.55M	56.27M
Total Debt	11.50M	13.24M	8.00M	8.00M	8.00M	21.81M
Total Liabilities	556.27M	527.29M	483.63M	505.69M	430.80M	400.28M
Stockholders Equity	59.95M	54.65M	48.67M	40.72M	46.49M	43.17M
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	0.00	7.60M	7.41M	7.29M	14.76M	3.54M
Operating Cash Flow	0.00	8.33M	8.18M	10.66M	15.69M	4.38M
Investing Cash Flow	0.00	-20.63M	-31.56M	-74.61M	-37.38M	-10.88M
Financing Cash Flow	0.00	41.03M	-23.87M	73.42M	28.97M	35.45M

Peoples Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Positive
• Last Price: 58.38
• 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 PPLL, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 58.38 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 60.93, above the 50-day MA of 58.09, and above the 200-day MA of 50.23, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 0.70 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 59.50 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 62.44 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for PPLL.

Peoples Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
LSBK	78 Outperform	$119.46M	15.98	6.28%	2.12%	2.27%	66.15%
PPLL	73 Outperform	$109.50M	13.41	―	2.99%	―	―
AUBN	69 Neutral	$89.93M	12.40	8.22%	4.16%	24.17%	739.42%
Sector *	68 Neutral	$18.00B	11.42	9.92%	3.81%	9.73%	1.22%
IROQ	62 Neutral	$93.00M	17.37	6.20%	1.48%	1.93%	157.35%
PBHC	54 Neutral	$83.45M	-14.18	2.26%	2.86%	0.84%	―