Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Rating Increased 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 research report released on Thursday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on PFS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Provident Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock opened at $21.33 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $19.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.47. Provident Financial Services has a 52 week low of $13.07 and a 52 week high of $22.24. The stock has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 20.51 and a beta of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.11). Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 9.55%. The business had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services will post 1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.50%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 92.31%.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PFS. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 80,745 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,175,000 after buying an additional 7,905 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 5.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 55,927 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $815,000 after purchasing an additional 2,645 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the first quarter worth approximately $149,000. Collective Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the second quarter worth approximately $534,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

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.