Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Trading 3.1% Higher

Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 3.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $14.01 and last traded at $13.99. Approximately 115,528 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 655,656 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.57.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PFS shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Provident Financial Services from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Provident Financial Services from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Provident Financial Services from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, TheStreet cut Provident Financial Services from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $17.50.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 3.7 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $14.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.23 and a beta of 1.07.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $114.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.63 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.82%. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.86, for a total transaction of $89,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,475 shares in the company, valued at $169,223.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 4.29% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $15,922,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 13.4% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,953,765 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $75,833,000 after purchasing an additional 466,497 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 60.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,073,084 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $25,110,000 after purchasing an additional 403,067 shares in the last quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $5,873,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 84.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 650,642 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $11,731,000 after purchasing an additional 298,744 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.