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

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) was upgraded by DA Davidson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm 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 price target indicates a potential upside of 28.78% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on PFS. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. TheStreet cut Provident Financial Services from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Provident Financial Services from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Provident Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.00.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE PFS opened at $15.53 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $14.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.66. Provident Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $13.21 and a fifty-two week high of $19.62. The company has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $114.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $114.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Provident Financial Services will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In related news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $169,223.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,643 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 3,557 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth $336,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 71,543 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,290,000 after buying an additional 4,789 shares during the period. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth $5,873,000. Finally, RMB Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. RMB Capital Management LLC now owns 300,000 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $5,409,000 after buying an additional 34,094 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.