Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) PT Lowered to $18.00

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) had its price objective reduced by Royal Bank of Canada from $19.00 to $18.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the savings and loans company's stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on PFS. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. TheStreet lowered shares of Provident Financial Services from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $17.50.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $14.59. 886,086 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 658,954. The stock has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.53 and a beta of 1.07. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $15.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.73. Provident Financial Services has a 12-month low of $13.43 and a 12-month high of $19.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.04). Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 18.46%. The firm had revenue of $114.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $114.30 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. Provident Financial Services's revenue for the quarter was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.58%. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Provident Financial Services

In other news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.86, for a total transaction of $89,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,475 shares in the company, valued at $169,223.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $336,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 71,543 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $1,290,000 after buying an additional 4,789 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 84.9% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 650,642 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $11,731,000 after buying an additional 298,744 shares in the last quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp purchased a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $5,873,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 53,282 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $961,000 after buying an additional 1,920 shares in the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.