Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Now Covered by Analysts at DA Davidson

DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) in a research report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating and a $25.00 price target on the savings and loans company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on PFS. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.90.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:PFS opened at $21.91 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Provident Financial Services has a 12-month low of $14.34 and a 12-month high of $23.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.03.

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

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 43.05%.

Provident Financial Services declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, January 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.81 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the savings and loans company to reacquire up to 0.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,210 shares during the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 45.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 548 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.