HIGHTSTOWN, N.J., Jan. 22, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- cpa4stocks.com has come out with a "buy" rating on Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) (doing business as The Provident Bank)
Reasons for the buy recommendation include the following:
-- Strong earnings, solid cash flow, high book value, and attractive
business model. cpa4stocks.com believes that Provident is
attractive on its fundamentals; it's classification as a "value"
play; it's ability to pay dividends in the future; and it's
prospects of increased earnings in the future (currently, no
dividends are paid)
-- Provident Bank has 49 full-service branches throughout the State
of New Jersey
-- On 1/16/03, Provident sold nearly 60 million shares to its
depositors at $10.00. All net proceeds went to Provident. Sandler
O'Neill & Partners LP, was the investment bank
-- As of 9/30/02, Provident had nearly $320 million in equity. With
the stock sale, equity rises to almost $900 million. Based on 60
million shares, this equates to book value of $15.00/share
-- As of 9/30/02, Provident reflected $3.2 billion in assets --
nearly half in cash and high-quality securities
-- Provident's "equalized" earnings are close to $30 million
annually. However, with the influx of the stock issuance proceeds,
which nearly triples Provident's book value, earnings should be
significantly higher in the years to come
-- In these challenging economic times, cpa4stocks.com finds
Provident's solid earnings, high book value, and stable business
model to be very attractive
-- Provident cash levels and customer reach may make it an attractive
takeover target for larger bank holding companies, such as
Washington Mutual (NYSE:WM) or Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:SOV)
-- Given Provident Bank's strong earnings; solid cash flow; high book
value; business model; and relatively safe investment and loan
portfolios; cpa4stocks.com is rating Provident Bank a "buy;" our
highest rating
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