Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Receives $24.00 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the four ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $24.00.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PFS shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. DA Davidson raised their target price 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. Finally, Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $18.26 on Friday. Provident Financial Services has a 12-month low of $13.07 and a 12-month high of $22.24. The company has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.39 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $19.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.04.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.13). Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 5.60%. Research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services will post 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.26%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 91.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Provident Financial Services news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total value of $73,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $715,223.52. This trade represents a 9.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 4.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in 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 worth $5,883,000 after acquiring an additional 90,238 shares during the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $508,000. Royce & Associates LP bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $766,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.9% during 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 buying an additional 53,943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,026,000. Institutional investors 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.