Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Receives Average Rating of "Buy" from Analysts

Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Buy" from the four research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $24.00.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PFS shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Hovde Group started coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total value of $73,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at $715,223.52. This represents a 9.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.44% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PFS. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 39.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 316,953 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $5,883,000 after purchasing an additional 90,238 shares during the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $508,000. Royce & Associates LP purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $766,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,947,394 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $54,715,000 after buying an additional 53,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $268,000. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 3.3 %

NYSE PFS traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $18.83. The company had a trading volume of 953,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 627,881. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.93 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $19.42 and a 200 day moving average of $19.06. Provident Financial Services has a 1-year low of $13.07 and a 1-year high of $22.24.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.13). Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.60% and a net margin of 10.13%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.43%.

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.