Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.00.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

PFS stock opened at $18.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Provident Financial Services has a one year low of $13.07 and a one year high of $22.24. The stock has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.74 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.10.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 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, analysts predict that Provident Financial Services will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.15%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.43%.

Insider Activity 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 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $715,223.52. This represents a 9.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 10,931 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 14,240 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 13,172 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 191,748 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $3,618,000 after buying an additional 730 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 13,422 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 772 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.