Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday.

PFS has been the subject of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $15.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday. 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 decreased their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $19.00.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of PFS stock opened at $15.53 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $14.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.66. Provident Financial Services has a one year low of $13.21 and a one year high of $19.62.

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

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.18%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 4.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. American Century Companies Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 68,856 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,885,897 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $34,003,000 after purchasing an additional 34,730 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $16,917,000 after buying an additional 48,425 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.9% in 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 buying an additional 11,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $9,419,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

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.