Hovde Group Boosts Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Price Target to $28.50

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) had its price target boosted by analysts at Hovde Group from $26.50 to $28.50 in a research note issued to investors on Friday. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the savings and loans company’s stock. Hovde Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 14.66% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on PFS. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Stephens started coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.50.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of PFS stock opened at $24.86 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $23.22 and a 200-day moving average of $22.27. The company has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.36 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Provident Financial Services has a one year low of $17.61 and a one year high of $25.41.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 11.09%. The business had revenue of $234.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $225.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO George Lista sold 2,556 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.40, for a total transaction of $57,254.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 109,262 shares in the company, valued at $2,447,468.80. This represents a 2.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 45,333 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $895,000 after buying an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 29,888 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 19,782 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 652 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,752 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 25,075 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Provident Financial Services

Here are the key news stories impacting Provident Financial Services this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 earnings and revenue beat estimates. Provident reported earnings of $0.60 per share, ahead of the $0.56 analyst consensus and up from $0.55 a year ago. Revenue reached $234.96 million versus expectations of $225.57 million. Provident Financial Q2 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Core banking trends improved. Net interest income increased to $202.7 million, while net interest margin expanded to 3.48% from 3.40% in the prior quarter and 3.36% a year earlier. Non-interest income also rose year over year, helped by wealth-management and insurance-agency revenue. Provident Financial Services Reports Second Quarter Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend provides continued income support. The board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.24 per share, equivalent to $0.96 annually and an indicated yield of approximately 3.9%. The dividend is payable August 28 to shareholders of record August 14. Provident Financial Services Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly net income declined modestly from $79.4 million in the first quarter to $78.1 million, although it increased from $72.0 million a year earlier. The stock’s valuation remains relatively moderate at about 10 times earnings.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider activity showed three open-market sales and no purchases over the past six months, a potential cautionary signal, though the transactions may not reflect management’s current outlook.

About Provident Financial Services

Provident Financial Services, Inc is the bank holding company for Provident Bank, a regional commercial bank headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. The company operates a network of full-service branches across New Jersey, the New York metropolitan area and eastern Pennsylvania, offering a range of personal and business banking solutions.

Its core products and services include checking and savings accounts, consumer and residential mortgage loans, commercial real estate financing and small-business lending.