Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Releases Earnings Results

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

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 5.2 %

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $14.46 on Friday. Provident Financial Services has a 1 year low of $13.21 and a 1 year high of $19.62. The firm has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.04 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.65.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on PFS. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, TheStreet cut Provident Financial Services from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.50.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In other news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.86, for a total transaction of $89,300.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $169,223.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 132.8% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,867 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 35.7% in the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 1,785 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Point72 Middle East FZE bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, First Manhattan Co. grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 106.8% during the fourth quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 2,130 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.