Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Coverage Initiated at Hovde Group

Hovde Group started coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) in a report issued on Friday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the savings and loans company’s stock. Hovde Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 23.09% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on PFS. DA Davidson lifted their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.50.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

PFS opened at $20.31 on Friday. Provident Financial Services has a 12-month low of $13.07 and a 12-month high of $22.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.53 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $20.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.81.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $349.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $211.25 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 9.55%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Provident Financial Services

In other Provident Financial Services news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 link. 4.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 820 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 991.2% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,685 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 43.0% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,050 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 1,218 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased 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 period. Finally, Haverford Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the third quarter worth approximately $187,000. 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.