Brokerages Set Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Target Price at $17.50

Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the four ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $19.00.

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $15.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock opened at $15.09 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 9.43 and a beta of 1.07. Provident Financial Services has a 1-year low of $13.21 and a 1-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 released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $114.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. Provident Financial Services’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.36%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.00%.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In other news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 9,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $169,223.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 3.1% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 68,856 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 34,730 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 938,254 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $16,917,000 after purchasing an additional 48,425 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 valued at $11,364,000 after purchasing an additional 11,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $9,419,000. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by 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.