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

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 7.31%. The business had revenue of $114.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. Provident Financial Services’s revenue was down 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock opened at $14.46 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 9.04 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50 day moving average of $14.75 and a 200 day moving average of $15.66. Provident Financial Services has a 52 week low of $13.21 and a 52 week high of $19.62.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.00%.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In related news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.86, for a total transaction of $89,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,475 shares in the company, valued at $169,223.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 84.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 650,642 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $11,731,000 after purchasing an additional 298,744 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 53,282 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $961,000 after acquiring an additional 1,920 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 123,580 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $2,228,000 after acquiring an additional 11,118 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 34.5% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 187,520 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $3,382,000 after acquiring an additional 48,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD Mission Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at $590,000. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Provident Financial Services from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of Provident Financial Services from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Provident Financial Services has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.50.

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.