Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) moved above its 200-day moving average, trading as high as $23.72 and last around $23.57. The stock’s technical breakout comes after a period of trading below that level.
• Analysts are broadly positive on the stock, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.42. Recent notes included higher targets from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and coverage initiations from Stephens and Piper Sandler.
• The company beat quarterly EPS expectations with $0.61 per share versus the $0.55 estimate, and revenue rose 7.9% year over year. It also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, yielding about 4.1%.

Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $21.67 and traded as high as $23.72. Provident Financial Services shares last traded at $23.5650, with a volume of 1,005,158 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Provident Financial Services from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, May 1st. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Monday, March 16th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.42.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of 10.03 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $22.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.67.

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 company had revenue of $225.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.62 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.98% and a net margin of 21.95%.Provident Financial Services's revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In other news, CEO George Lista sold 2,556 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.40, for a total transaction of $57,254.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 109,262 shares in the company, valued at $2,447,468.80. The trade was a 2.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 23.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 44,106 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $758,000 after acquiring an additional 8,507 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 74,926 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $1,286,000 after acquiring an additional 3,277 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 256,739 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $4,408,000 after acquiring an additional 15,112 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 247.5% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 312,478 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $5,365,000 after purchasing an additional 222,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 45.6% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 73,261 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 22,961 shares during 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 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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