Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $19.71 and last traded at $19.71, with a volume of 125941 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $19.08.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price 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 issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.67.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.29. The company has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The savings and loans company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.39). Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 4.95% and a net margin of 9.38%. The business had revenue of $141.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $148.60 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.82%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.00%.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In other news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total transaction of $99,476.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,787.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PFS. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 4,245.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,996,954 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $56,877,000 after purchasing an additional 3,904,975 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 51.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,787,088 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $111,740,000 after buying an additional 2,649,643 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 125.3% in the 2nd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,690,155 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $24,254,000 after acquiring an additional 939,951 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 56.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,612,246 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $23,136,000 after purchasing an additional 582,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,990,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

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.