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

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) was upgraded by research analysts at DA Davidson to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on PFS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $25.00 price target on Provident Financial Services in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.90.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Provident Financial Services stock opened at $21.91 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $21.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.03. Provident Financial Services has a 1 year low of $14.34 and a 1 year high of $23.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 0.86. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. 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 company had revenue of $225.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $224.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.37 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program 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 reacquire up to 0.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 2,957.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 787,172 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $15,547,000 after acquiring an additional 761,427 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 40.4% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,308,774 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $44,513,000 after purchasing an additional 664,021 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services during the second quarter worth about $10,545,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,359,098 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $122,603,000 after purchasing an additional 576,673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 38.1% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,239,628 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $24,483,000 after buying an additional 342,301 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.