Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Price Target Raised to $27.00 at DA Davidson

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) had its price objective boosted by DA Davidson from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the savings and loans company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.00.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 1.0 %

PFS stock traded up $0.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $21.40. 637,637 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 884,330. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $19.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 1.03. Provident Financial Services has a 52-week low of $13.07 and a 52-week high of $22.23.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.25 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 5.21%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Provident Financial Services will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.49%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total transaction of $99,476.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,603,787.04. This represents a 5.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 4,245.5% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,996,954 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $56,877,000 after purchasing an additional 3,904,975 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 51.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,787,088 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $111,740,000 after acquiring an additional 2,649,643 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 13,182.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,854,596 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $34,421,000 after purchasing an additional 1,840,633 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its position in Provident Financial Services by 125.3% during the 2nd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,690,155 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $24,254,000 after acquiring an additional 939,951 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 10.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,683,467 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $142,605,000 after purchasing an additional 713,688 shares in the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.