Brokerages Set Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Price Target at $20.25

Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the four brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.25.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com downgraded Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. DA Davidson upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $15.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,007,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 68.4% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 407,581 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $5,849,000 after buying an additional 165,554 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the second quarter worth $187,000. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the second quarter worth $296,000. Finally, Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the second quarter worth $741,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE PFS opened at $17.30 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 1.03. Provident Financial Services has a 52-week low of $13.07 and a 52-week high of $19.16.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The savings and loans company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.39). The company had revenue of $141.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $148.60 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 4.95% and a net margin of 9.38%. Provident Financial Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Provident Financial Services will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.55%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.