Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $23.98 and last traded at $23.92, with a volume of 111085 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.79.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on PFS. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $25.00 target price on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson lowered Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.70.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.63 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $20.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.63.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The savings and loans company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.08. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 21.06%.The firm had revenue of $225.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $224.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.37 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.05%.

Provident Financial Services declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, January 26th that permits the company to buyback $2.81 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the savings and loans company to buy up to 0.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PFS. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the third quarter worth $26,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 358.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,210 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 45.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 548 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Provident Financial Services by 633.8% during the 2nd 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 period. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.