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

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

PFS has been the topic of several other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, 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 research note on Monday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $21.40 on Friday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $19.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.12. Provident Financial Services has a 52 week low of $13.07 and a 52 week high of $22.23. The stock has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.49%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.31%.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In other news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was 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 owns 88,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,787.04. The trade was a 5.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 4,245.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 51.6% in the second 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 shares of Provident Financial Services by 13,182.2% during the third 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 raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 125.3% during the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,690,155 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $24,254,000 after purchasing an additional 939,951 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 10.2% in 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 during the period. 71.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.