Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.13 EPS

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.13), Zacks reports. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 5.21%.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

PFS stock traded up $0.10 on Tuesday, reaching $19.25. 765,592 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 544,794. Provident Financial Services has a twelve month low of $13.07 and a twelve month high of $22.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $19.76 and a 200-day moving average of $18.98. The firm has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a PE ratio of 18.50 and a beta of 1.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total transaction of $73,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $715,223.52. The trade was a 9.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson upped their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.50.

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.