Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) has been given an average rating of “Buy” by the four brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $23.50.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PFS shares. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total transaction of $73,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,254 shares in the company, valued at $715,223.52. This represents a 9.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 88,712 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,674,000 after acquiring an additional 2,762 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 55.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 795,855 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $14,771,000 after acquiring an additional 283,879 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted 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 worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 1,973 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 1.9% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 316,953 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $5,883,000 after buying an additional 90,238 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock opened at $17.98 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of 17.29 and a beta of 1.08. Provident Financial Services has a 52 week low of $13.07 and a 52 week high of $22.24.

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

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 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.