Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.03 EPS

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

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE PFS opened at $14.46 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $14.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.65. The firm has a market capitalization 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 fifty-two week low of $13.21 and a fifty-two week high of $19.62.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Provident Financial Services

In other Provident Financial Services news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.86, for a total value of $89,300.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,475 shares in the company, valued at $169,223.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $15,922,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,953,765 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $75,833,000 after acquiring an additional 466,497 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 60.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,073,084 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $25,110,000 after acquiring an additional 403,067 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 84.9% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 650,642 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $11,731,000 after acquiring an additional 298,744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,058,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

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.