Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) PT Raised to $21.00

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) had its target price hoisted by Royal Bank of Canada from $18.00 to $21.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the savings and loans company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on PFS. StockNews.com raised Provident Financial Services from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. DA Davidson raised Provident Financial Services from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $15.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $20.25.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 4.2 %

PFS stock opened at $17.76 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $15.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.32. Provident Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $13.07 and a fifty-two week high of $19.16. The company has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.10 and a beta of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The savings and loans company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.39). Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 4.95% and a net margin of 9.38%. The company had revenue of $141.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $148.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.41%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted 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 buying an additional 56,410 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at $544,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 334.5% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 103,938 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 80,018 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 71,543 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,290,000 after purchasing an additional 4,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth $9,419,000. 71.97% of the stock is 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.