Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Given "Hold (C+)" Rating at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Provident Financial Services' stock has been given a "hold (C+)" rating by Weiss Ratings, indicating cautious performance expectations.
• DA Davidson raised their target price for PFS shares from $22.00 to $24.00, awarding the stock a "buy" rating, while Zacks downgraded it from "strong-buy" to "hold."
• Insider transactions revealed that Director John Pugliese sold 25,000 shares of the company, indicating potential shifts in stakeholder confidence.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c+)" rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Weiss Ratings in a report released on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on PFS. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Hovde Group upped their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.70.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock opened at $19.36 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $19.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.85. The company has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 0.91. Provident Financial Services has a 12-month low of $14.34 and a 12-month high of $22.24.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $214.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the firm earned ($0.11) EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John Pugliese sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.91, for a total transaction of $497,750.00. Following the sale, the director owned 87,907 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,750,228.37. This trade represents a 22.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.90, for a total transaction of $59,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $788,696.70. The trade was a 7.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PFS. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 84.5% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,207,898 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $55,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,469,432 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at about $17,412,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,545,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,548,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 295,521 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.