Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) PT Raised to $19.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) had its price target upped by equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada from $18.00 to $19.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the savings and loans company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 24.35% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently commented on PFS. TheStreet downgraded Provident Financial Services from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. DA Davidson raised Provident Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $15.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Provident Financial Services from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Provident Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.00.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFS traded up $0.82 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $15.28. The stock had a trading volume of 457,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 689,283. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.55 and a beta of 1.07. Provident Financial Services has a 1 year low of $13.21 and a 1 year high of $19.62. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $14.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.66.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.03. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 7.31% and a net margin of 16.78%. The company had revenue of $114.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $114.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Provident Financial Services will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In related news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.86, for a total value of $89,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $169,223.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.44% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 14,434 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184 shares in the last quarter. WBI Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. WBI Investments Inc. now owns 19,541 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 1,338 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 27,121 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 62,897 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 157,800 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $2,413,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in 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 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.