Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, DA Davidson Analyst Says

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) had its price target increased by investment analysts at DA Davidson from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the savings and loans company’s stock. DA Davidson’s target price points to a potential upside of 26.17% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 1.0 %

Provident Financial Services stock opened at $21.40 on Friday. Provident Financial Services has a 1-year low of $13.07 and a 1-year high of $22.23. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $19.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Provident Financial Services

In related news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total transaction of $99,476.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,603,787.04. This represents a 5.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of PFS. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 120.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,500 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 991.2% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 43.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,050 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 1,218 shares during the period. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

About Provident Financial Services

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.