Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Cut to “Hold” at DA Davidson

DA Davidson lowered shares of Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on PFS. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. Hovde Group boosted their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.70.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of PFS stock opened at $18.81 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Provident Financial Services has a 52 week low of $14.34 and a 52 week high of $22.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.97.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 17th. The savings and loans company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 16.97% and a return on equity of 8.80%. The business had revenue of $114.54 million for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John Pugliese sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.91, for a total transaction of $497,750.00. Following the sale, the director owned 87,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,750,228.37. This represents a 22.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.90, for a total transaction of $59,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,633 shares in the company, valued at $788,696.70. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFS. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 84.5% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,207,898 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $55,080,000 after buying an additional 1,469,432 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $17,412,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,545,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,548,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 251.3% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 413,107 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $7,242,000 after buying an additional 295,521 shares in 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.