Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Raymond James Financial

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFSGet Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Raymond James Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $21.00 target price on the savings and loans company’s stock. Raymond James Financial’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 18.21% from the company’s current price.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.60.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Provident Financial Services

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 0.7%

PFS stock opened at $17.77 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Provident Financial Services has a 1-year low of $13.79 and a 1-year high of $22.24. The stock has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.00 and a beta of 0.86.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFSGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.03. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 6.38% and a net margin of 11.45%. The firm had revenue of $208.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $206.86 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 82.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Provident Financial Services will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Christopher P. Martin sold 55,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.07, for a total transaction of $950,252.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 601,050 shares in the company, valued at $10,259,923.50. The trade was a 8.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,605,199 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $275,600,000 after purchasing an additional 51,253 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 84.5% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,207,898 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $55,080,000 after purchasing an additional 1,469,432 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,584,298 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $44,372,000 after purchasing an additional 127,897 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,976,235 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $37,292,000 after purchasing an additional 87,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,825,993 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $34,456,000 after purchasing an additional 33,201 shares in the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Provident Financial Services

(Get Free Report)

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.

See Also

Analyst Recommendations for Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS)

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