Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.70.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. DA Davidson cut shares of Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $20.09 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.25 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.22. Provident Financial Services has a 12-month low of $14.34 and a 12-month high of $21.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 17th. The savings and loans company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $114.54 million for the quarter. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.62%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Provident Financial Services will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 48.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO George Lista sold 8,262 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.35, for a total transaction of $151,607.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 108,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,993,837.60. This represents a 7.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 358.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,210 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position 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 worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 633.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,040 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

About Provident Financial Services

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.