Royal Bank of Canada Increases Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Price Target to $19.00

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

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on PFS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on 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. TheStreet downgraded Provident Financial Services from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, DA Davidson raised Provident Financial Services from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their target price for the stock from $15.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Provident Financial Services currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $19.00.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $15.20 on Monday. Provident Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $13.21 and a fifty-two week high of $19.62. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $14.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 1.07.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $114.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. Provident Financial Services’s quarterly revenue was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Provident Financial Services will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.86, for a total value of $89,300.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $169,223.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 17,508.3% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 1,728.7% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,333 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 6,932 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $253,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 14,434 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.