Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Upgraded by DA Davidson to “Buy”

DA Davidson upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $20.00 price target on the savings and loans company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $15.00.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $19.00.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock opened at $15.20 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $14.74 and a 200-day moving average of $15.66. Provident Financial Services has a 1-year low of $13.21 and a 1-year high of $19.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.86, for a total transaction of $89,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $169,223.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PFS. Norges Bank bought a new position in Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $9,419,000. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp bought a new position in Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $5,873,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 334.5% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 103,938 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,889,000 after buying an additional 80,018 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 3.1% during 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 buying an additional 68,856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 7.3% during 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 buying an additional 60,765 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

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.