Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Price Target Cut to $19.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) had its price objective lowered by Royal Bank of Canada from $21.00 to $19.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the savings and loans company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on PFS. TheStreet lowered Provident Financial Services from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Provident Financial Services from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $17.75.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:PFS opened at $14.57 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.79. The firm has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.52 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Provident Financial Services has a 52-week low of $13.43 and a 52-week high of $19.80.

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

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.59%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Provident Financial Services news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.86, for a total value of $89,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $169,223.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 4.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $15,922,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 13.4% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,953,765 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $75,833,000 after purchasing an additional 466,497 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 60.2% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,073,084 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $25,110,000 after purchasing an additional 403,067 shares during the last quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $5,873,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 84.9% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 650,642 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $11,731,000 after purchasing an additional 298,744 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.