Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Lifted to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $15.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday. TheStreet cut Provident Financial Services from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $19.00.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:PFS opened at $15.20 on Tuesday. Provident Financial Services has a 52-week low of $13.21 and a 52-week 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 stock has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50 day moving average is $14.74 and its 200 day moving average is $15.66.

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

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 6.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Provident Financial Services news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 available through this hyperlink. 4.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,261,425 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $34,577,000 after buying an additional 68,856 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,885,897 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $34,003,000 after acquiring an additional 34,730 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 938,254 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $16,917,000 after purchasing an additional 48,425 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 630,297 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $11,364,000 after purchasing an additional 11,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,419,000. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.