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

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $23.70.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PFS. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $25.00 price target on Provident Financial Services in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

PFS stock opened at $23.42 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 0.86. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $20.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.70. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The savings and loans company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.08. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 21.06%.The business had revenue of $225.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $224.08 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.05%.

Provident Financial Services announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, January 26th that allows the company to repurchase $2.81 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the savings and loans company to reacquire up to 0.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 358.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 45.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 633.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,040 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,762 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Provident Financial Services

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.