Hovde Group Initiates Coverage on Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS)

Hovde Group started coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) in a report issued on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $25.00 target price on the savings and loans company's stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Provident Financial Services from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.50.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE PFS traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $20.33. 220,774 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 854,242. The firm has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.53 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $20.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $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 12-month low of $13.07 and a 12-month high of $22.24.

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

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total value of $73,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $715,223.52. The trade was a 9.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.29% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 120.6% in the third 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 period. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 991.2% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,685 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 43.0% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,050 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1,779.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,876 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 7,457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Haverford Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the third quarter worth $187,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company's stock.

About Provident Financial Services

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.