Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Price Target Lowered to $23.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $24.00 to $23.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the savings and loans company's stock. Royal Bank of Canada's price target points to a potential upside of 25.94% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on PFS. StockNews.com upgraded Provident Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.00.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of PFS traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $18.26. The stock had a trading volume of 628,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 603,423. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Provident Financial Services has a 52 week low of $13.07 and a 52 week high of $22.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $19.54 and a 200 day moving average of $19.04. The company has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.39 and a beta of 1.07.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.13). Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.60% and a net margin of 10.13%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Provident Financial Services will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

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

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PFS. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 120.6% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,500 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 40.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,387 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 1,848 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 7,457 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 35,936.4% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,928 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $151,000 after buying an additional 7,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the second quarter worth $178,000. 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.