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

Key Points

• Provident Financial Services has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, with 8 firms covering the stock: 2 strong buys, 3 buys, and 3 holds. The average 12-month price target is about $23.93.
• The company’s latest quarterly results beat earnings expectations, posting $0.61 EPS versus the $0.55 estimate, while revenue came in at $225.2 million and rose 7.9% year over year.
• Provident also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.24, equal to an annualized yield of about 4.1%. Meanwhile, CEO George Lista sold 2,556 shares in May, and hedge funds remain heavily invested, owning 71.97% of the stock.

Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $23.9286.

A number of research firms have commented on PFS. Weiss Ratings raised Provident Financial Services from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Monday. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $24.00 target price for the company.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of PFS opened at $23.14 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.85 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $22.20 and a 200 day moving average of $21.38. Provident Financial Services has a twelve month low of $15.92 and a twelve month high of $23.98.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $225.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.62 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 21.95% and a return on equity of 10.98%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Provident Financial Services's payout ratio is 40.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Provident Financial Services news, CEO George Lista sold 2,556 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.40, for a total value of $57,254.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 109,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,447,468.80. The trade was a 2.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.02% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PFS. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 2,957.6% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 787,172 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $15,547,000 after buying an additional 761,427 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 40.4% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,308,774 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $44,513,000 after purchasing an additional 664,021 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,359,098 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $122,603,000 after purchasing an additional 576,673 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 38.1% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,239,628 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $24,483,000 after purchasing an additional 342,301 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 251.3% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 413,107 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $7,242,000 after purchasing an additional 295,521 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company's stock.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

Provident Financial Services, Inc is the bank holding company for Provident Bank, a regional commercial bank headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. The company operates a network of full-service branches across New Jersey, the New York metropolitan area and eastern Pennsylvania, offering a range of personal and business banking solutions.

Its core products and services include checking and savings accounts, consumer and residential mortgage loans, commercial real estate financing and small-business lending.

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