Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Now Covered by Analysts at DA Davidson

Analysts at DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) in a report issued on Wednesday. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 price target on the savings and loans company’s stock. DA Davidson’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 14.17% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on PFS. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $25.00 price objective on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Provident Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.90.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:PFS opened at $21.90 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $21.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a PE ratio of 9.82 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.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The savings and loans company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $225.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $224.08 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 21.06% and a return on equity of 10.69%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PFS. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 45,333 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $895,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 1.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 45.0% in 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 during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.5% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 36,730 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $708,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.7% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 37,828 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $729,000 after buying an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

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.