Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) Receives $24.08 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $24.0833.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PFS shares. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Provident Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Monday, March 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $25.00 target price on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Thursday, January 29th.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 0.8%

Provident Financial Services stock opened at $21.34 on Friday. Provident Financial Services has a one year low of $14.34 and a one year high of $23.98. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $21.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.57 and a beta of 0.81.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.08. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 21.06%.The company had revenue of $225.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $224.08 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 43.05%.

Provident Financial Services announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, January 26th that allows the company to repurchase $2.81 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the savings and loans company to reacquire up to 0.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PFS. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,210 shares during the period. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 45.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

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.