Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Stephens

Research analysts at Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) in a research note issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 price target on the savings and loans company’s stock. Stephens’ target price suggests a potential upside of 5.08% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Monday, March 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Provident Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Provident Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.93.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 2.2%

NYSE:PFS traded up $0.50 on Monday, reaching $22.84. 19,198 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 953,331. The company has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.70 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Provident Financial Services has a 12 month low of $15.92 and a 12 month high of $23.98. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.28.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $225.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.62 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.98% and a net margin of 21.95%.Provident Financial Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Provident Financial Services will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO George Lista sold 2,556 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.40, for a total transaction of $57,254.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 109,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,447,468.80. This represents a 2.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 3.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 358.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,210 shares during the period. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services in the third quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 40.9% during the third quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,100 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

Provident Financial Services, Inc is the bank holding company for Provident Bank, a regional commercial bank headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. The company operates a network of full-service branches across New Jersey, the New York metropolitan area and eastern Pennsylvania, offering a range of personal and business banking solutions.

Its core products and services include checking and savings accounts, consumer and residential mortgage loans, commercial real estate financing and small-business lending.