Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the four research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $17.75.
A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PFS shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. TheStreet lowered shares of Provident Financial Services from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday.
View Our Latest Analysis on PFS
Provident Financial Services Price Performance
Shares of NYSE PFS traded up $0.19 on Thursday, hitting $14.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,082,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 642,108. Provident Financial Services has a 12-month low of $13.43 and a 12-month high of $19.80. The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.52 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $15.60 and a 200-day moving average of $15.81.
Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $114.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.30 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 18.46% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Provident Financial Services will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.
Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. Provident Financial Services's payout ratio is currently 56.14%.
Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services
In other news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.86, for a total value of $89,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,475 shares of the company's stock, valued at $169,223.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.29% of the company's stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 132.8% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,867 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares during the period. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 17,508.3% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares during the period. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 35.7% in the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 1,785 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the period. Point72 Middle East FZE purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Provident Financial Services
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Get Free ReportProvident 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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