Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Price Target Raised to $20.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the savings and loans company’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 7.24% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com raised Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson raised Provident Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $15.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.25.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:PFS traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $18.65. 290,241 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 957,594. The stock has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.63 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Provident Financial Services has a 12-month low of $13.07 and a 12-month high of $19.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $14.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.25.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The savings and loans company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.39). Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 9.38% and a return on equity of 4.95%. The company had revenue of $141.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $148.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 42.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 66,113 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $963,000 after acquiring an additional 885 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 43,930 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 21,844 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 1,945 shares in the last quarter. 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.