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

Key Points

• Provident Financial Services has a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" from eight brokerages, with an average 12-month price target of about $24.79.
• The company beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.61 EPS versus the expected $0.55, while revenue came in at $225.2 million and rose 7.9% year over year.
• Provident also recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, which annualizes to $0.96 and yields about 4.1%.

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $24.7857.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE:PFS opened at $23.53 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $22.63 and a 200 day moving average of $21.80. The company has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.01 and a beta of 0.78. Provident Financial Services has a 1-year low of $17.61 and a 1-year high of $24.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $225.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $225.62 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 21.95% and a return on equity of 10.98%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Provident Financial Services will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Provident Financial Services news, CEO George Lista sold 2,556 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 109,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,447,468.80. The trade was a 2.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its position in Provident Financial Services by 57.0% during the 1st quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 25,420 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 9,224 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 23.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 624,648 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $13,218,000 after purchasing an additional 118,432 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 9.3% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 329,212 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $6,967,000 after purchasing an additional 27,883 shares during the last quarter. South Dakota Investment Council bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the first quarter worth about $825,000. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 90.7% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 51,277 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 24,392 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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