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

Stock analysts at Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the savings and loans company’s stock. Hovde Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 22.79% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Thursday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.50.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of PFS opened at $20.36 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58 and a beta of 1.06. Provident Financial Services has a 12-month low of $13.07 and a 12-month high of $22.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its 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). Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 5.21%. The business had revenue of $349.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Provident Financial Services will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In other Provident Financial Services news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 991.2% during the 2nd 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. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 820 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Provident Financial Services by 43.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,050 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 1,779.7% in the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth about $163,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.