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

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) had its price objective boosted by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $18.00 to $19.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the savings and loans company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target indicates a potential upside of 22.34% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. TheStreet downgraded Provident Financial Services from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. DA Davidson upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $15.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, 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 research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.00.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock opened at $15.53 on Monday. Provident Financial Services has a one year low of $13.21 and a one year high of $19.62. The company has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.08. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $14.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.66.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Provident Financial Services will post 1.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Provident Financial Services

In other news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $169,223.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 4.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PFS. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 2.7% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 62,897 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $962,000 after buying an additional 1,677 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth $271,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 61,537 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $941,000 after purchasing an additional 8,885 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 41.5% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,016 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 4,403 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew 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 worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184 shares in the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.