Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Now Covered by Stephens

Stephens began coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 price target on the savings and loans company’s stock. Stephens’ target price points to a potential upside of 5.08% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on PFS. Weiss Ratings raised Provident Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, May 1st. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Provident Financial Services in a report on Monday, March 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.93.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

PFS traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $22.84. The company had a trading volume of 19,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 953,331. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $22.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.28. Provident Financial Services has a 12-month low of $15.92 and a 12-month high of $23.98. The stock has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of 9.70 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $225.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.62 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 21.95% and a return on equity of 10.98%. The company’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Provident Financial Services will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Provident Financial Services

In related news, CEO George Lista sold 2,556 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.40, for a total transaction of $57,254.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 109,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,447,468.80. This represents a 2.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 45,333 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $895,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position 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. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 36,730 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $708,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3.4% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 19,782 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,752 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.