Analysts Set Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) Target Price at $22.70

Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $22.70.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PFS shares. DA Davidson downgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock opened at $19.84 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.12 and a beta of 0.85. Provident Financial Services has a one year low of $14.34 and a one year high of $21.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $19.71 and its 200-day moving average is $19.25.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.55. The firm had revenue of $221.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.90 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.62%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Provident Financial Services will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 48.98%.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In other news, CEO George Lista sold 8,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.35, for a total transaction of $151,607.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 108,656 shares in the company, valued at $1,993,837.60. The trade was a 7.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the third quarter worth about $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 358.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,210 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 45.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 633.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,040 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.