Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $24.7857.

A number of research firms have recently commented on PFS. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens began coverage on Provident Financial Services in a report on Monday, June 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of PFS opened at $23.53 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of 10.01 and a beta of 0.78. Provident Financial Services has a one year low of $17.61 and a one year high of $24.24.

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

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Provident Financial Services

In other news, CEO George Lista sold 2,556 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.40, for a total transaction of $57,254.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 109,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,447,468.80. This trade represents a 2.29% 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. Corporate insiders own 3.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 23.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 44,106 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $758,000 after buying an additional 8,507 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 74,926 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,286,000 after acquiring an additional 3,277 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 6.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 256,739 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $4,408,000 after acquiring an additional 15,112 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 247.5% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 312,478 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $5,365,000 after acquiring an additional 222,549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 45.6% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 73,261 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 22,961 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.