Brokerages Set Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) Price Target at $23.70

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $23.70.

PFS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Thursday, January 29th. DA Davidson lowered Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Thursday, January 22nd.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 1.1%

PFS opened at $23.83 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $20.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.63. The company has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 0.86. Provident Financial Services has a 52 week low of $14.34 and a 52 week high of $23.97.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The savings and loans company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $225.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $224.08 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 21.06%.The business’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. Analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 43.05%.

Provident Financial Services declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, January 26th that permits the company to repurchase $2.81 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the savings and loans company to purchase up to 0.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PFS. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 23.9% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 44,106 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $758,000 after purchasing an additional 8,507 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 74,926 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,286,000 after acquiring an additional 3,277 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 6.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 256,739 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $4,408,000 after acquiring an additional 15,112 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 247.5% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 312,478 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $5,365,000 after acquiring an additional 222,549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 45.6% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 73,261 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,258,000 after acquiring an additional 22,961 shares in the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Provident Financial Services

Provident Financial Services, Inc is the bank holding company for Provident Bank, a regional commercial bank headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. The company operates a network of full-service branches across New Jersey, the New York metropolitan area and eastern Pennsylvania, offering a range of personal and business banking solutions.

Its core products and services include checking and savings accounts, consumer and residential mortgage loans, commercial real estate financing and small-business lending.