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

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $23.70.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on PFS shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $25.00 target price on Provident Financial Services in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, DA Davidson cut shares of Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock opened at $23.60 on Friday. Provident Financial Services has a one year low of $14.34 and a one year high of $23.71. The company has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $20.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.58.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The savings and loans company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $225.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $224.08 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 21.06% and a return on equity of 10.69%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, January 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.81 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the savings and loans company to repurchase up to 0.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the third quarter worth $26,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 358.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,210 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 45.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 1,762 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

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.