Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Earns Overweight Rating from Analysts at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) in a research note published on Monday morning. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $25.00 price objective on the savings and loans company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on PFS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $25.00 target price on Provident Financial Services in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Provident Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, DA Davidson started 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.08.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 1.1%

PFS stock opened at $20.12 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $21.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.02 and a beta of 0.86. Provident Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $14.34 and a fifty-two week high of $23.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $225.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $224.08 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.05%.

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

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PFS. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 45,333 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $895,000 after buying an additional 456 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 29,888 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position 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 worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 548 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.5% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 36,730 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $708,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 37,828 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $729,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.