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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price 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. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.00.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 1.3 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $19.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PFS. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 3,904,975 shares during the last quarter. 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 purchasing an additional 2,649,643 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 13,182.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,854,596 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $34,421,000 after purchasing an additional 1,840,633 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 939,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,683,467 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $142,605,000 after buying an additional 713,688 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.