Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $22.24 and last traded at $21.91, with a volume of 114585 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $21.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on PFS. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.00.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $19.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 20.47 and a beta of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.11). Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 5.21%. The company had revenue of $349.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $211.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.50%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.31%.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 5.1% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 16,672 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 120.6% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,500 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3.3% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 29,402 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 944 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 43.0% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,050 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 6.5% in the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 20,616 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,257 shares in the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Provident Financial Services

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.