Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the three brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $23.00.

Several equities analysts have commented on PFS shares. DA Davidson increased their price target on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Hovde Group assumed coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $20.31 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53 and a beta of 1.06. Provident Financial Services has a 52-week low of $13.07 and a 52-week high of $22.24. 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 (NYSE:PFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.11). The business 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.31%.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In other Provident Financial Services news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the company’s 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 owns 34,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $715,223.52. This represents a 9.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position 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 valued at $56,877,000 after purchasing an additional 3,904,975 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew 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 during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 13,182.2% in 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 grew its holdings in 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 worth $24,254,000 after purchasing an additional 939,951 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased 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 worth $142,605,000 after buying an additional 713,688 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.