Analysts Set Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Price Target at $24.00

Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the four research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $24.00.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PFS shares. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Hovde Group started coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total value of $73,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $715,223.52. This represents a 9.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.44% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 316,953 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $5,883,000 after acquiring an additional 90,238 shares in the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP bought a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $508,000. Royce & Associates LP acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services in the third quarter worth $766,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,947,394 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $54,715,000 after purchasing an additional 53,943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $268,000. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $19.22 on Friday. Provident Financial Services has a 12 month low of $13.07 and a 12 month high of $22.24. The company has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50 day moving average is $19.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.13). Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 5.60%. On average, equities analysts expect that Provident Financial Services will post 2.09 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.43%.

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.