Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) Given Consensus Rating of "Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) has received a consensus rating of "Buy" from five research firms, with an average target price of $22.70.
• The company recently reported earnings of $0.55 per share, surpassing analyst expectations, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 with a yield of 4.8%.
• Significant insider trading activity was noted, with Chairman Christopher P. Martin selling approximately 55,668 shares, reducing his stake in the company by 8.48%.

Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Buy" from the five research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $22.70.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PFS. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Hovde Group lifted their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Thursday, June 26th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $21.00 target price for the company.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE:PFS opened at $19.88 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.23 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $18.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.50. Provident Financial Services has a 1-year low of $14.34 and a 1-year high of $22.24.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $214.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $213.39 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 16.97% and a return on equity of 8.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.11) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Provident Financial Services's payout ratio is presently 54.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Christopher P. Martin sold 55,668 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.07, for a total value of $950,252.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 601,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,259,923.50. The trade was a 8.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 913.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 111,992 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $1,963,000 after acquiring an additional 100,936 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 29,096 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,675 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 81.2% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 359,385 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $6,300,000 after acquiring an additional 161,011 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 445,449 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $7,809,000 after acquiring an additional 31,643 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 388.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 22,657 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 18,021 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company's stock.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

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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