Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the four research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $18.75.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PFS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $15.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. TheStreet cut Provident Financial Services from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFS opened at $15.10 on Friday. Provident Financial Services has a 12 month low of $13.07 and a 12 month high of $19.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.43 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $14.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.29.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $114.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.50 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 7.31% and a net margin of 16.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Provident Financial Services will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 26th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.36%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 17,508.3% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth $76,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 1,728.7% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,333 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 6,932 shares during the period. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $149,000. 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.