Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Now Covered by Analysts at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) in a report published on Monday. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $25.00 price target on the savings and loans company’s stock.

PFS has been the subject of several other research reports. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings cut Provident Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $25.00 target price on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.08.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:PFS opened at $20.39 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a PE ratio of 9.14 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Provident Financial Services has a twelve month low of $14.34 and a twelve month high of $23.98. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.20.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.08. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 21.06% and a return on equity of 10.69%. The business had revenue of $225.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $224.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Provident Financial Services will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.05%.

Provident Financial Services declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, January 26th that allows the company to repurchase $2.81 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the savings and loans company to repurchase up to 0.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Provident Financial Services by 358.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,210 shares during the period. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 45.0% in the third 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.