Provident Financial Services, Inc Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.24 (NYSE:PFS)

Key Points

• Provident Financial Services, Inc announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, with payment scheduled for August 29th, representing an annualized dividend of $0.96 and a yield of 5.04%.
• The company reported earnings of $0.55 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.50 and showing a significant increase from the prior year's loss.
• Provident Financial Services currently has a payout ratio of 42.1%, indicating that its dividend is well-covered by earnings, with projected earnings of $2.26 per share for the next year.
• Several analysts have rated Provident Financial Services as a "Buy," with a consensus average price target of $23.30, reflecting positive sentiment towards the company's stock.

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 24th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.24 per share by the savings and loans company on Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.04%.

Provident Financial Services has a payout ratio of 42.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Provident Financial Services to earn $2.26 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 42.5%.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFS traded up $0.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $19.03. The stock had a trading volume of 418,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 664,336. Provident Financial Services has a 12-month low of $14.34 and a 12-month high of $22.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.13 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.46.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 6.38% and a net margin of 11.45%. The company had revenue of $214.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $213.39 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.11) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Provident Financial Services will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on PFS shares. Hovde Group raised their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Provident Financial Services in a report on Thursday, June 26th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $21.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Provident Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $23.30.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Christopher P. Martin sold 55,668 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.07, for a total value of $950,252.76. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 601,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,259,923.50. The trade was a 8.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 23.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 44,106 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $758,000 after buying an additional 8,507 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 74,926 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $1,286,000 after purchasing an additional 3,277 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 6.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 256,739 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $4,408,000 after purchasing an additional 15,112 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 247.5% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 312,478 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $5,365,000 after purchasing an additional 222,549 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 45.6% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 73,261 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 22,961 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company's stock.

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.

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