Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Receives $23.00 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the four brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $23.50.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Provident Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Provident Financial Services from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Thursday, August 15th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Hovde Group began coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of PFS stock traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.36. The company had a trading volume of 424,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 855,216. The company has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58 and a beta of 1.06. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $20.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Provident Financial Services has a 52-week low of $13.07 and a 52-week high of $22.24.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.11). Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 9.55%. The business had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $211.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.72%. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Provident Financial Services

In other Provident Financial Services news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total transaction of $73,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $715,223.52. This trade represents a 9.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 4.29% 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 PFS. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 991.2% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,685 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 120.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,500 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 43.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,050 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1,779.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,876 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $146,000 after purchasing an additional 7,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the second quarter worth $163,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company's stock.

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.