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

Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 18th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a dividend of 0.24 per share by the savings and loans company on Friday, May 31st. 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 has raised its dividend by an average of 1.4% per year over the last three years. Provident Financial Services has a payout ratio of 45.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Provident Financial Services to earn $2.04 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 47.1%.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 5.2 %

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock opened at $14.46 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a P/E 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. Provident Financial Services has a one year low of $13.21 and a one year high of $19.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $14.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.65.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $114.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.50 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 7.35%. Provident Financial Services’s quarterly revenue was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. TheStreet downgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of 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. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.50.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In related news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.86, for a total value of $89,300.00. Following the sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mariner LLC boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 13,217 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth about $193,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 597.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,907 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $182,000 after purchasing an additional 10,200 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth about $178,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1,728.7% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,333 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 6,932 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

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.