Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $23.60.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Provident Financial Services in a report on Thursday, June 26th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $21.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In other news, Chairman Christopher P. Martin sold 55,668 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.07, for a total value of $950,252.76. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 601,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,259,923.50. This trade represents a 8.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 447.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 30.0% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,893 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 193.8% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 2,938 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 1,938 shares in the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of PFS traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $18.28. 766,500 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 648,264. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $17.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.46. Provident Financial Services has a 52-week low of $14.34 and a 52-week high of $22.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a PE ratio of 16.47 and a beta of 0.86.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 6.38%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.11) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Provident Financial Services will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

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.