Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $23.70.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $25.00 target price on Provident Financial Services in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PFS. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 358.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,210 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 45.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 633.8% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,040 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,762 shares in the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of PFS opened at $22.99 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of 10.31 and a beta of 0.86. Provident Financial Services has a 52-week low of $14.34 and a 52-week high of $23.98.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The savings and loans company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.08. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 21.06% and a return on equity of 10.69%. The firm had revenue of $225.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $224.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.37 earnings per share. Provident Financial Services’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, January 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.81 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the savings and loans company to buy up to 0.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.05%.

About Provident Financial Services

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.