Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Issues Earnings Results

Key Points

• Provident Financial Services reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.55, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.50.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, which implies an annualized dividend of $0.96 and a yield of 5.04%.
• Recent trading activity saw Provident Financial shares increase by 3.9% to reach $19.07 as institutional investors have been actively buying and selling shares of the company.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The savings and loans company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05, Briefing.com reports. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 16.97% and a return on equity of 8.80%. The firm had revenue of $214.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $213.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.11) earnings per share.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 3.9%

PFS traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $19.07. 822,925 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 643,596. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $17.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.77 and a beta of 0.86. Provident Financial Services has a one year low of $14.34 and a one year high of $22.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.04%. Provident Financial Services's payout ratio is 86.49%.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In related news, Chairman Christopher P. Martin sold 55,668 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.07, for a total transaction of $950,252.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 601,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,259,923.50. This trade represents a 8.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 4.6% in the 1st 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 buying an additional 3,277 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 23.9% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 44,106 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $758,000 after acquiring an additional 8,507 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 6.3% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 45.6% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 73,261 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $1,258,000 after buying an additional 22,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 247.5% during 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 buying an additional 222,549 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

About Provident Financial Services

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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