Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Receives $23.50 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) has received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the four ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $23.50.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PFS shares. Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson upped their target price on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE PFS opened at $18.55 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.84 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50 day moving average is $20.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.54. Provident Financial Services has a 12-month low of $13.07 and a 12-month high of $22.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 prior year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. Research analysts expect that Provident Financial Services will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.18%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 92.31%.

Insider Activity

In other Provident Financial Services news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total value of $73,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $715,223.52. The trade was a 9.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 3,904,975 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 51.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,787,088 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $111,740,000 after acquiring an additional 2,649,643 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 13,182.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,854,596 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $34,421,000 after acquiring an additional 1,840,633 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 125.3% in 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 raised its stake 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 worth $142,605,000 after purchasing an additional 713,688 shares during the period. 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.