Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) Receives $22.70 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.70.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson increased their price target on Provident Financial Services from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Hovde Group increased their price target on Provident Financial Services from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $21.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research cut Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Saturday, September 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Provident Financial Services

In other Provident Financial Services news, Director John Pugliese sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.91, for a total value of $497,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 87,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,750,228.37. This represents a 22.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.90, for a total value of $59,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $788,696.70. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PFS. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 26.3% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 54,975 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $964,000 after buying an additional 11,453 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 18.4% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 73,989 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after buying an additional 11,494 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 913.0% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 111,992 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,963,000 after buying an additional 100,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 6.1% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 29,096 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $510,000 after buying an additional 1,675 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of PFS opened at $20.00 on Friday. Provident Financial Services has a 12-month low of $14.34 and a 12-month high of $22.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of 11.30 and a beta of 0.91.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 8.80% and a net margin of 16.97%.The business had revenue of $214.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $213.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.11) EPS. Analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.24%.

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.