Analysts Set Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) Price Target at $23.90

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $23.90.

PFS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $25.00 target price on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, DA Davidson began coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 358.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210 shares during the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 45.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock opened at $20.82 on Tuesday. Provident Financial Services has a 12 month low of $14.34 and a 12 month high of $23.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.33 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.18.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.08. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 21.06% and a return on equity of 10.69%. The firm had revenue of $225.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $224.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.05%.

Provident Financial Services announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, January 26th that permits the company to buyback $2.81 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the savings and loans company to purchase up to 0.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Provident Financial Services

Provident Financial Services, Inc is the bank holding company for Provident Bank, a regional commercial bank headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. The company operates a network of full-service branches across New Jersey, the New York metropolitan area and eastern Pennsylvania, offering a range of personal and business banking solutions.

Its core products and services include checking and savings accounts, consumer and residential mortgage loans, commercial real estate financing and small-business lending.