Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Issues Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.11 EPS

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.11), Briefing.com reports. 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $18.68 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $18.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.64. Provident Financial Services has a 52-week low of $13.07 and a 52-week high of $19.97. The company has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

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 given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total value of $99,476.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,787.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.67.

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.