Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Stock Price

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) had its price target trimmed by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the savings and loans company's stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on PFS. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Provident Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.25.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 2.6 %

Provident Financial Services stock traded up $0.44 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $17.13. 562,861 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 843,397. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $16.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.52. Provident Financial Services has a twelve month low of $13.07 and a twelve month high of $22.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of 16.31 and a beta of 0.84.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.03. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.60% and a net margin of 10.13%. The business had revenue of $208.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $206.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 82.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Provident Financial Services will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.49%.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 184,312 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $3,165,000 after purchasing an additional 13,931 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 2.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 649,485 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $11,152,000 after buying an additional 16,941 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the first quarter worth about $311,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 1.0% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 72,088 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $1,238,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salzhauer Michael grew its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 70,201 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $1,205,000 after acquiring an additional 10,358 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.