Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Announces Earnings Results

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.03, Briefing.com reports. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 7.35%. The firm had revenue of $114.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 5.2 %

Shares of PFS stock opened at $14.46 on Friday. Provident Financial Services has a 12-month low of $13.21 and a 12-month high of $19.62. The company has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.04 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $14.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.00%.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In related news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.86, for a total transaction of $89,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $169,223.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 4.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 132.8% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,867 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 35.7% in the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 1,785 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Point72 Middle East FZE acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, First Manhattan Co. increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 106.8% in the 4th quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 2,130 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFS has been the subject of a number of research reports. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced 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 report on Tuesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.50.

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.