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

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share by the savings and loans company on Friday, November 27th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th.

Provident Financial Services has a payout ratio of 42.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Provident Financial Services to earn $2.58 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 37.2%.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $23.20 on Friday. Provident Financial Services has a 1-year low of $17.70 and a 1-year high of $25.49. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 0.83.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $238.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $235.31 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 21.73%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.36, for a total value of $70,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,006,418.88. The trade was a 6.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas Shara sold 40,266 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.06, for a total transaction of $928,533.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 382,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,829,927.66. This trade represents a 9.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 79,166 shares of company stock worth $1,856,284. Corporate insiders own 3.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 3.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,070,734 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $170,775,000 after purchasing an additional 256,540 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services in the second quarter valued at about $36,916,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 998,562 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $23,606,000 after buying an additional 64,251 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 827,266 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $17,505,000 after purchasing an additional 80,147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 23.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 624,648 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $13,218,000 after buying an additional 118,432 shares in the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

Provident Financial Services, Inc is the parent company of Provident Bank, a full-service community and commercial bank serving individuals, businesses and organizations. The bank provides checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, treasury management and other deposit products, along with residential mortgage, commercial real estate, commercial business and consumer lending.

Through its banking and wealth-management operations, Provident offers services that may include investment management, trust and fiduciary services, financial planning and insurance solutions.