Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, DA Davidson Analyst Says

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) had its target price increased by DA Davidson from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the savings and loans company’s stock. DA Davidson’s price objective points to a potential upside of 27.90% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Provident Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of PFS stock traded down $0.07 on Friday, hitting $21.11. 223,270 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 882,423. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.30 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50-day moving average of $18.94 and a 200 day moving average of $17.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Provident Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $13.07 and a fifty-two week high of $22.23.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.11). Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 9.55%. The company had revenue of $349.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total transaction of $99,476.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,603,787.04. The trade was a 5.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 4.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 4,245.5% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,996,954 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $56,877,000 after acquiring an additional 3,904,975 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 51.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,787,088 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $111,740,000 after buying an additional 2,649,643 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 125.3% in the 2nd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,690,155 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $24,254,000 after acquiring an additional 939,951 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 56.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,612,246 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $23,136,000 after purchasing an additional 582,844 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the second quarter worth about $6,990,000. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

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.