Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04, Zacks reports. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.98% and a net margin of 21.95%.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:PFS traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $24.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,254,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 983,722. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $23.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.21. The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Provident Financial Services has a one year low of $17.61 and a one year high of $24.56.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.85%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO George Lista sold 2,556 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.40, for a total value of $57,254.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 109,262 shares in the company, valued at $2,447,468.80. This trade represents a 2.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,814,194 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $154,331,000 after acquiring an additional 125,104 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,046,392 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $139,166,000 after purchasing an additional 41,961 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,710,987 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $132,542,000 after purchasing an additional 351,889 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,578,302 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $31,171,000 after purchasing an additional 216,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 38.1% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,239,628 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $24,483,000 after purchasing an additional 342,301 shares in the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Stephens started coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price target on Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.00.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

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.