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

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

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 5.2 %

Shares of PFS stock opened at $14.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $14.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.65. Provident Financial Services has a 12-month low of $13.21 and a 12-month high of $19.62. The firm has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.04 and a beta of 1.07.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.86, for a total value of $89,300.00. Following the transaction, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mariner LLC increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 5.9% in the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 13,217 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $193,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in 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 valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 10,200 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $178,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 6,932 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.