Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Zacks.com reports.
According to Zacks, “Provident Financial Services, Inc. is the holding company of The Provident Bank, a community- and customer-oriented banking company. The Provident Bank emphasizes personal service and customer convenience in attending to the financial needs of individuals, families and businesses in northern and central New Jersey. The bank offers a broad array of deposit, loan, trust and investment products. In keeping with its Customer-Centric Strategy. “
Get Provident Financial Services alerts: PFS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Boenning Scattergood reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday, April 26th. ValuEngine downgraded Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd.
Shares of Provident Financial Services stock opened at $23.89 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.16. The company has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.13, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Provident Financial Services has a 52 week low of $22.22 and a 52 week high of $27.94.
Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The savings and loans company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $92.39 million the consensus estimate of $91.04 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 29.23% and a return on equity of 9.28%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services will post 1.8 EPS for the current year.
In related news, Director Ursuline F. Foley acquired 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $23.80 per share, with a total value of $95,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,405 shares in the company, valued at $33,439. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website . Also, Director Carlos Hernandez sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.52, for a total value of $70,560.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders have bought a total of 5,000 shares of company stock worth $120,335 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.
A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PFS. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 11,494 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 809 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 678,312 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $16,367,000 after purchasing an additional 68,448 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 507,656 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $12,249,000 after purchasing an additional 11,270 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 45.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 126,376 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $3,049,000 after purchasing an additional 39,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 13,246 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,930 shares during the last quarter. 64.34% of the stock is currently owned by .
About Provident Financial Services
Provident Financial Services, Inc operates as the holding company for Provident Bank that provides various banking services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. The company's deposit products include savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, money market deposit, and certificate of deposit accounts, as well as IRA, and KEOGH products.
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