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

Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the four brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $24.00.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PFS. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, Hovde Group started coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 2.0 %

Provident Financial Services stock opened at $18.27 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $18.78 and its 200-day moving average is $19.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Provident Financial Services has a 1 year low of $13.07 and a 1 year high of $22.24. The company has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.40 and a beta of 1.07.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.13). Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.60% and a net margin of 10.13%. On average, equities analysts expect that Provident Financial Services will post 2.14 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, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.25%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Provident Financial Services

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 transaction of $73,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $715,223.52. This trade represents a 9.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFS. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $435,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 1,779.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,876 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $146,000 after buying an additional 7,457 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 3,201.7% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 19,051 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 18,474 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $217,000. Finally, Chartwell Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,564,000. 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.