Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $21.59 and last traded at $21.6360, with a volume of 110650 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research lowered Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.70.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 2.3%

The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.32. The company has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 0.85.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55. The firm had revenue of $221.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $220.90 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.62%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.36 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 48.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Provident Financial Services news, CEO George Lista sold 8,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.35, for a total value of $151,607.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,993,837.60. This represents a 7.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 1.5% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 36,730 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $708,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 1.7% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 37,828 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $729,000 after buying an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 3.9% in the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 18,828 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 7.3% during the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 12,073 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 825 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.