Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Trims Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Target Price to $17.00

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) had its price objective trimmed by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $20.00 to $17.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the savings and loans company’s stock.

Separately, TheStreet lowered shares of Provident Financial Services from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $17.75.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFS opened at $14.57 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.79. Provident Financial Services has a one year low of $13.43 and a one year high of $19.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.52 and a beta of 1.07.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.04). Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 18.46% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The business had revenue of $114.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $114.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. Provident Financial Services’s quarterly revenue was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Provident Financial Services will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.59%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 56.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $89,300.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,475 shares in the company, valued at $169,223.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 35.7% during the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 1,785 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 19.3% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 12,296 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 1,986 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 6.4% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 67,130 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after buying an additional 4,031 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 45.3% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 15,646 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $366,000 after buying an additional 4,877 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 69.9% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 36,093 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $855,000 after buying an additional 14,853 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.