Hovde Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Stock

Key Points

• Hovde Group has raised its price target for Provident Financial Services (PFS) from $22.50 to $23.50, indicating a potential upside of 28.56% from the last closing price.
• Provident Financial Services reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, surpassing expectations of $0.50, with a revenue of $214.17 million.
• Within the current research landscape, analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Buy" for PFS, with the average target price sitting at $23.30.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by Hovde Group from $22.50 to $23.50 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the savings and loans company's stock. Hovde Group's price target points to a potential upside of 28.56% from the company's previous close.

PFS has been the subject of a number of other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $21.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $23.30.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:PFS opened at $18.28 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.46. The stock has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.47 and a beta of 0.86. Provident Financial Services has a 1 year low of $14.34 and a 1 year high of $22.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $214.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $213.39 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 6.38% and a net margin of 11.45%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.11) EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Provident Financial Services news, Chairman Christopher P. Martin sold 55,668 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.07, for a total transaction of $950,252.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 601,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,259,923.50. This represents a 8.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 39,764 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $750,000 after buying an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $239,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,456,401 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $46,352,000 after purchasing an additional 81,617 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 163,956 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $3,094,000 after purchasing an additional 13,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $480,000. 71.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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