Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Shares Gap Down to $18.56

Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $18.56, but opened at $18.14. Provident Financial Services shares last traded at $18.75, with a volume of 47,841 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on PFS. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $15.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.75.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 1.5 %

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $14.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a PE ratio of 11.63 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFS. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 1st quarter valued at $544,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 334.5% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 103,938 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,889,000 after buying an additional 80,018 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 71,543 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,290,000 after buying an additional 4,789 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,419,000. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.