Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Downgraded to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their price target for the stock from $15.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $20.25.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 4.2 %

NYSE:PFS opened at $17.76 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $15.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.32. Provident Financial Services has a 12 month low of $13.07 and a 12 month high of $19.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.10 and a beta of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The savings and loans company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.39). The company had revenue of $141.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $148.60 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 4.95% and a net margin of 9.38%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Provident Financial Services will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.41%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.00%.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PFS. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 269.0% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 77,382 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,127,000 after acquiring an additional 56,410 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at about $544,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 334.5% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 103,938 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after acquiring an additional 80,018 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 71,543 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,290,000 after acquiring an additional 4,789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $9,419,000. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Provident Financial Services

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.