Provident Financial Services, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.24 (NYSE:PFS)

Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 18th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of 0.24 per share by the savings and loans company on Friday, May 31st. 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 has raised its dividend by an average of 1.4% annually over the last three years. Provident Financial Services has a dividend payout ratio of 45.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Provident Financial Services to earn $2.04 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 47.1%.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 5.2 %

PFS stock opened at $14.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.04 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Provident Financial Services has a one year low of $13.21 and a one year high of $19.62. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $14.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.65.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $114.48 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $114.50 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 7.35%. Provident Financial Services’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Provident Financial Services will post 1.63 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In related news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.86, for a total transaction of $89,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $169,223.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 132.8% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,867 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 35.7% in the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 1,785 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Point72 Middle East FZE acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Finally, First Manhattan Co. lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 106.8% in the 4th quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 2,130 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

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.