Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Lifted to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. TheStreet cut shares of Provident Financial Services from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $15.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.00.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE PFS opened at $15.54 on Tuesday. Provident Financial Services has a 52 week low of $13.21 and a 52 week high of $19.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $14.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.66.

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

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In other Provident Financial Services news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.86, for a total value of $89,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $169,223.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 4.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $9,419,000. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $5,873,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 334.5% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 103,938 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 80,018 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,261,425 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $34,577,000 after purchasing an additional 68,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 889,829 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $13,605,000 after buying an additional 60,765 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

About Provident Financial Services

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.