Provident Financial Services, Inc Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.24 (NYSE:PFS)

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of 0.24 per share by the savings and loans company on Friday, February 27th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th.

Provident Financial Services has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years. Provident Financial Services has a dividend payout ratio of 42.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Provident Financial Services to earn $2.26 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 42.5%.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Provident Financial Services stock traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $21.88. The stock had a trading volume of 348,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 896,417. The company has a 50-day moving average of $20.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Provident Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $14.34 and a fifty-two week high of $22.46. The company has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a PE ratio of 11.18 and a beta of 0.85.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The savings and loans company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $225.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $224.08 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 21.06%.Provident Financial Services’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.37 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Provident Financial Services

In other news, CEO George Lista sold 8,262 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.35, for a total value of $151,607.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 108,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,993,837.60. The trade was a 7.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the third quarter worth $26,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 358.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,210 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 45.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 633.8% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,040 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,762 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

About Provident Financial Services

Provident Financial Services, Inc is the bank holding company for Provident Bank, a regional commercial bank headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. The company operates a network of full-service branches across New Jersey, the New York metropolitan area and eastern Pennsylvania, offering a range of personal and business banking solutions.

Its core products and services include checking and savings accounts, consumer and residential mortgage loans, commercial real estate financing and small-business lending.