Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $26.7857.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PFS. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. DA Davidson set a $26.00 price target on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 price target (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $26.50 to $28.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas Shara sold 40,266 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.06, for a total transaction of $928,533.96. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 382,911 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,829,927.66. This trade represents a 9.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,000 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.36, for a total transaction of $70,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,418.88. The trade was a 6.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 79,166 shares of company stock worth $1,856,284. 3.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PFS. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $55,000. First Bancorp Inc ME purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth $86,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $176,000. Flywheel Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth $212,000. Finally, Baron Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the second quarter valued at about $212,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Provident Financial Services stock opened at $23.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a PE ratio of 9.60 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $23.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.76. Provident Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $17.69 and a fifty-two week high of $25.49.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $234.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $225.57 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 11.00% and a net margin of 22.15%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

About Provident Financial Services

Provident Financial Services, Inc is the parent company of Provident Bank, a full-service community bank serving individuals, families, businesses and nonprofit organizations. The company provides a range of banking products, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential mortgages, home equity loans, commercial real estate financing, commercial and industrial loans, and consumer lending.

Through its banking operations, Provident also offers cash management, online and mobile banking, wealth management, trust services and other financial solutions.