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

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) had its price objective increased by Royal Bank of Canada from $18.00 to $19.00 in a research note published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the savings and loans company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their target price for the company from $15.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $19.00.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 5.1 %

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $15.20 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $14.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.66. The company 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 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 issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $114.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.50 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 7.31% and a net margin of 16.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid 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 yield of 6.32%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Provident Financial Services

In other Provident Financial Services news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.86, for a total value of $89,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,475 shares in the company, valued at $169,223.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 4.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFS. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 14,434 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 1,184 shares during the last quarter. WBI Investments Inc. raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. WBI Investments Inc. now owns 19,541 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 1,338 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 27,121 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $415,000 after buying an additional 1,434 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 62,897 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $962,000 after buying an additional 1,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 157,800 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $2,413,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.