StockNews.com Upgrades Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) to “Hold”

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Thursday.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

PFS opened at $21.12 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.50. Provident Financial Services has a one year low of $13.07 and a one year high of $22.24.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 991.2% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,685 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 120.6% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,500 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 43.0% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,050 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1,779.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,876 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $146,000 after acquiring an additional 7,457 shares in the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently 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.