Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) PT Raised to $19.00

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) had its target price increased by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $18.00 to $19.00 in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the savings and loans company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 22.34% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on PFS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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 research report on Tuesday, March 26th. TheStreet lowered shares of Provident Financial Services from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, DA Davidson raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $15.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.00.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE:PFS opened at $15.53 on Monday. Provident Financial Services has a 12-month low of $13.21 and a 12-month high of $19.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $14.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.66.

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

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In other news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 9,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $169,223.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 17,508.3% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1,728.7% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,333 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 6,932 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $202,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 8.9% during the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 14,434 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 41.5% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,016 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 4,403 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.