Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Raised to “Buy” at DA Davidson

DA Davidson upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $20.00 target price on the savings and loans company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $15.00. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Provident Financial Services’ Q2 2024 earnings at $0.15 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $1.75 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $2.35 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of Provident Financial Services from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $19.00.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFS opened at $15.20 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $14.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 1.07. Provident Financial Services has a one year low of $13.21 and a one year high of $19.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.03. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 7.31%. The company had revenue of $114.48 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $114.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.32%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 60.00%.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In related news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.86, for a total value of $89,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $169,223.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PFS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $9,419,000. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,873,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 334.5% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 103,938 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 80,018 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $34,577,000 after acquiring an additional 68,856 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 7.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 889,829 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $13,605,000 after acquiring an additional 60,765 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.