Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Price Target Lowered to $18.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) had its price target reduced by Royal Bank of Canada from $19.00 to $18.00 in a research report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the savings and loans company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. TheStreet cut shares of Provident Financial Services from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded Provident Financial Services from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $15.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $18.75.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 5.7 %

Shares of PFS stock opened at $15.95 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $14.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Provident Financial Services has a 1 year low of $13.07 and a 1 year high of $19.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.97 and a beta of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.03. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 7.31% and a net margin of 16.78%. The business had revenue of $114.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. Provident Financial Services’s quarterly revenue was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Provident Financial Services will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 26th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.02%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 66,113 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $963,000 after acquiring an additional 885 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 7.4% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 43,930 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $640,000 after buying an additional 1,637 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 17,508.3% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 2,101 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

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.