Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Hovde Group assumed coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.00.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

PFS traded down $0.37 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $19.22. The stock had a trading volume of 915,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 618,988. Provident Financial Services has a 1 year low of $13.07 and a 1 year high of $22.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The business has a fifty day moving average of $19.30 and a 200 day moving average of $19.07. The company has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30 and a beta of 1.07.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 5.60%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Provident Financial Services's payout ratio is 91.43%.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

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

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 316,953 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $5,883,000 after acquiring an additional 90,238 shares during the period. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the third quarter worth $508,000. Royce & Associates LP bought a new position in Provident Financial Services in the third quarter worth $766,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Provident Financial Services by 1.9% during the third 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 during the period. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $268,000. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.