Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Stock Price

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) had its price objective dropped by equities research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the savings and loans company’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective points to a potential upside of 35.05% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on PFS. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.25.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock traded down $0.25 during trading on Monday, reaching $16.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 142,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 840,527. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $16.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.60. Provident Financial Services has a one year low of $13.07 and a one year high of $22.24. The firm has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.03. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 5.60%. The business had revenue of $208.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $206.86 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Provident Financial Services will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 447.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 193.8% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 2,938 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 1,938 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 805.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,968 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 3,530 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

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.