Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Announces Earnings Results

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.13), Zacks reports. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 5.21%.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $18.35 on Thursday. Provident Financial Services has a 1 year low of $13.07 and a 1 year high of $22.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50-day moving average is $19.64 and its 200 day moving average is $19.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.23%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 92.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Provident Financial Services news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total transaction of $73,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $715,223.52. This represents a 9.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on PFS. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson upped 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 note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Hovde Group assumed coverage on Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.50.

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.