Brokerages Set Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Target Price at $17.50

Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the four ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $19.00.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $15.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Monday. TheStreet downgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased 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 note on Tuesday, March 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $169,223.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 4.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 8.9% in the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 14,434 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184 shares during the last quarter. WBI Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 7.4% in the third quarter. WBI Investments Inc. now owns 19,541 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 1,338 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 5.6% in the third quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 27,121 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 2.7% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 62,897 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 1.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 157,800 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $2,413,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:PFS opened at $15.54 on Monday. Provident Financial Services has a 1 year low of $13.21 and a 1 year high of $19.62. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 1.07. 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 (NYSE:PFS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $114.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Provident Financial Services will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.00%.

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.