Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the four ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $17.75.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. TheStreet cut shares of Provident Financial Services from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE:PFS traded up $0.26 on Thursday, hitting $14.64. The company had a trading volume of 342,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 629,551. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.54 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $15.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.81. Provident Financial Services has a 52 week low of $13.43 and a 52 week high of $19.80.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $114.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.30 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 18.46% and a return on equity of 7.88%. Provident Financial Services’s revenue was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Provident Financial Services news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.86, for a total value of $89,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,475 shares in the company, valued at $169,223.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 132.8% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,867 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares during the period. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 17,508.3% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 2,101 shares during the period. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 35.7% during the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 1,785 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the period. Point72 Middle East FZE bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Point72 Europe London LLP bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. 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.