Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) Receives $22.70 Consensus PT from Analysts

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.70.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PFS shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, DA Davidson cut Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of PFS opened at $20.14 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.28. The firm has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 0.85. Provident Financial Services has a 12-month low of $14.34 and a 12-month high of $21.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The firm had revenue of $221.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $220.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Provident Financial Services will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Provident Financial Services news, CEO George Lista sold 8,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.35, for a total value of $151,607.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,993,837.60. The trade was a 7.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services during the third quarter worth about $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 358.0% during the 2nd 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 period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 45.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 633.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,040 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,762 shares during the period. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 71.97% of the stock is currently 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.