Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Eight brokerages give Provident Financial Services a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with an average 12-month price target of $26.79 versus the reported $23.05 share price.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations: The company reported earnings of $0.60 per share, beating the $0.56 consensus estimate, while revenue of $234.96 million also topped forecasts.
• Provident maintains an attractive dividend: Its quarterly dividend is $0.24 per share, or $0.96 annualized, representing a 4.2% yield and a 40% payout ratio. Insiders, however, sold 79,166 shares worth approximately $1.86 million over the past 90 days.

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $26.7857.

Several research firms have commented on PFS. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $26.50 to $28.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Stephens began coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $28.00 price target (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $29.00 price target (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, July 31st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Provident Financial Services

In other news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.36, for a total value of $70,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,418.88. This represents a 6.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Shara sold 40,266 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.06, for a total value of $928,533.96. Following the sale, the director directly owned 382,911 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,829,927.66. This represents a 9.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 79,166 shares of company stock worth $1,856,284 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.02% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFS. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 18.7% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 63,534 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $1,502,000 after purchasing an additional 9,998 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the second quarter valued at $55,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the second quarter worth about $355,000. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 76.8% in the second quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 39,894 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $943,000 after purchasing an additional 17,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth about $443,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company's stock.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE:PFS opened at $23.05 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.60 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.76. Provident Financial Services has a 1 year low of $17.69 and a 1 year high of $25.49.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 11.00% and a net margin of 22.15%.The firm had revenue of $234.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.00%.

About Provident Financial Services

Provident Financial Services, Inc is the parent company of Provident Bank, a full-service community bank serving individuals, families, businesses and nonprofit organizations. The company provides a range of banking products, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential mortgages, home equity loans, commercial real estate financing, commercial and industrial loans, and consumer lending.

Through its banking operations, Provident also offers cash management, online and mobile banking, wealth management, trust services and other financial solutions.

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