Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Receives $23.00 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the four brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $23.50.

A number of research firms have commented on PFS. Hovde Group began coverage on Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In related news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total transaction of $73,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $715,223.52. The trade was a 9.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its position in Provident Financial Services by 10.6% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 20,530 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 1,973 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,947,394 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $54,715,000 after acquiring an additional 53,943 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 39.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 316,953 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $5,883,000 after acquiring an additional 90,238 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 120.6% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,500 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the third quarter valued at about $245,000. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 2.3 %

Provident Financial Services stock opened at $20.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.74 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.94. Provident Financial Services has a 12 month low of $13.07 and a 12 month high of $22.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.25 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 9.55%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Provident Financial Services will post 1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.75%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.31%.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

Provident Financial Services, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Provident Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. Its deposit products include savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, money market deposit, and certificate of deposit accounts, as well as IRA products.