Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Upgraded to Buy at DA Davidson

DA Davidson upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $20.00 price target on the savings and loans company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $15.00. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Provident Financial Services’ Q2 2024 earnings at $0.15 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $1.75 EPS.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. TheStreet cut shares of Provident Financial Services from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $19.00.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:PFS opened at $15.54 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $14.75 and its 200-day moving average is $15.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.08. Provident Financial Services has a 52 week low of $13.21 and a 52 week high of $19.62. The firm has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 1.07.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $114.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.50 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 7.31%. Provident Financial Services’s revenue was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Provident Financial Services will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 60.00%.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In other Provident Financial Services news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.86, for a total value of $89,300.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $169,223.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 4.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the third quarter worth about $271,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 7.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 889,829 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $13,605,000 after acquiring an additional 60,765 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 76.4% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 109,041 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,667,000 after acquiring an additional 47,217 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the third quarter worth about $681,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LP bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $573,000. Institutional investors 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.