Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Coverage Initiated at Hovde Group

Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $25.00 target price on the savings and loans company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on PFS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Provident Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.50.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:PFS opened at $20.36 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $20.10 and its 200-day moving average is $17.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Provident Financial Services has a 12 month low of $13.07 and a 12 month high of $22.24. The firm has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.72%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.31%.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In other news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total transaction of $73,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $715,223.52. This trade represents a 9.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 991.2% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 120.6% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,500 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 43.0% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,050 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1,779.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,876 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $146,000 after acquiring an additional 7,457 shares during the period. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $163,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

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.