Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $26.79 According to Brokerages

Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $26.79.

PFS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Hovde Group raised their target price on Provident Financial Services from $26.50 to $28.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 target price (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $29.00 price target (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, July 31st. DA Davidson set a $26.00 price target on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas Shara sold 40,266 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.06, for a total transaction of $928,533.96. Following the sale, the director directly owned 382,911 shares in the company, valued at $8,829,927.66. This trade represents a 9.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,000 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.36, for a total transaction of $70,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,083 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,418.88. This represents a 6.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 79,166 shares of company stock worth $1,856,284. Corporate insiders own 3.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $55,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,230 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the period. First Bancorp Inc ME purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth $86,000. Flywheel Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth $212,000. Finally, Baron Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services in the second quarter valued at $212,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 0.3%

Provident Financial Services stock opened at $22.06 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a PE ratio of 9.19 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $23.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.97. Provident Financial Services has a 1-year low of $17.69 and a 1-year high of $25.49.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $234.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $225.57 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 11.00% and a net margin of 22.15%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Provident Financial Services will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

Provident Financial Services, Inc is the parent company of Provident Bank, a full-service community bank headquartered in New Jersey. The bank serves individuals, families, businesses, and municipal organizations through a network of banking offices and digital channels.

Provident Bank offers consumer and commercial deposit products, residential and commercial real estate loans, commercial and industrial lending, consumer credit, and cash-management services. It also provides wealth-management and fiduciary services, along with other financial solutions designed for small and middle-market businesses.

Provident Financial Services traces its banking operations to the late 19th century.