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

Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the four research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.00.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PFS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on 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. 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, April 22nd. TheStreet cut Provident Financial Services from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 9,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $169,223.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 62,897 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,677 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $271,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 61,537 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $941,000 after acquiring an additional 8,885 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 41.5% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,016 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 4,403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock opened at $15.09 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.66. The company has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 9.43 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Provident Financial Services has a 12 month low of $13.21 and a 12 month high of $19.62.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $114.48 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $114.50 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 7.31% and a net margin of 16.78%. The company’s revenue was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Provident Financial Services will post 1.63 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.36%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.