Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Rating Increased to Buy at DA Davidson

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) was upgraded by research analysts at DA Davidson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $20.00 target price on the savings and loans company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $15.00. DA Davidson’s target price points to a potential upside of 28.78% from the company’s current price.

PFS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. 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, March 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.00.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Provident Financial Services stock opened at $15.53 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $14.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Provident Financial Services has a 12 month low of $13.21 and a 12 month high of $19.62.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.86, for a total transaction of $89,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $169,223.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the third quarter worth about $271,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 7.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 889,829 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $13,605,000 after purchasing an additional 60,765 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 76.4% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 109,041 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,667,000 after purchasing an additional 47,217 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the third quarter worth about $681,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LP bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the third quarter worth about $573,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.