Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) Receives $24.08 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $24.0833.

PFS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Provident Financial Services in a report on Monday, March 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut Provident Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $25.00 target price on Provident Financial Services in a research note on Thursday, January 29th.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

PFS opened at $20.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.25. The firm has a market cap of $2.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.33 and a beta of 0.86. Provident Financial Services has a 1 year low of $14.34 and a 1 year high of $23.98.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.08. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 21.06%.The firm had revenue of $225.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $224.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.37 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Provident Financial Services will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, January 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.81 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the savings and loans company to reacquire up to 0.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 43.05%.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 358.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210 shares in the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 45.0% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Provident Financial Services

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.