Analysts Set Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) PT at $17.50

Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the four research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $19.00.

A number of analysts recently commented on PFS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Provident Financial Services from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. TheStreet lowered Provident Financial Services from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. DA Davidson upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $15.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.86, for a total value of $89,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,475 shares in the company, valued at $169,223.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 4.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 17,508.3% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1,728.7% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,333 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 6,932 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $202,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $253,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 14,434 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 0.1 %

PFS stock opened at $15.54 on Monday. Provident Financial Services has a twelve month low of $13.21 and a twelve month high of $19.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $14.75 and its 200-day moving average is $15.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 1.07.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.03. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 7.31% and a net margin of 16.78%. The company had revenue of $114.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Provident Financial Services will post 1.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.00%.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

Provident Financial Services, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Provident Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. Its deposit products include savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, money market deposit, and certificate of deposit accounts, as well as IRA products.