Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.06 EPS

Key Points

• Provident Financial Services reported Q earnings of $0.61 EPS, beating the consensus by $0.06, with quarterly revenue up 7.9% year‑over‑year and a net margin of 21.06%.
• The company’s Board approved a $2.81 million share buyback (about 0.1% of shares), a move typically signaling management views the stock as undervalued.
• Wall Street sentiment is broadly positive with a consensus "Buy" and an average target of $24.08; shares traded near $22.41 with a market cap of $2.93 billion and a P/E of 10.05.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The savings and loans company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.06, Zacks reports. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 21.06% and a return on equity of 10.69%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. Provident Financial Services's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of PFS traded down $0.58 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.41. The stock had a trading volume of 1,115,137 shares, compared to its average volume of 947,117. The firm has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.05 and a beta of 0.81. Provident Financial Services has a 12 month low of $15.92 and a 12 month high of $23.98. The business has a fifty day moving average of $21.57 and a 200 day moving average of $20.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Provident Financial Services announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, January 26th that allows the company to buyback $2.81 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the savings and loans company to purchase up to 0.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $25.00 target price on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Thursday, January 29th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Monday, March 16th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $24.08.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PFS. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 23.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 44,106 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $758,000 after purchasing an additional 8,507 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $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 boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $4,408,000 after purchasing an additional 15,112 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $5,365,000 after purchasing an additional 222,549 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 22,961 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Provident Financial Services

Provident Financial Services, Inc is the bank holding company for Provident Bank, a regional commercial bank headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. The company operates a network of full-service branches across New Jersey, the New York metropolitan area and eastern Pennsylvania, offering a range of personal and business banking solutions.

Its core products and services include checking and savings accounts, consumer and residential mortgage loans, commercial real estate financing and small-business lending.

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