Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Sets New 1-Year Low at $13.07

Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $13.07 and last traded at $13.18, with a volume of 58381 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.21.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. DA Davidson raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $15.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday, April 22nd. TheStreet downgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, 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 for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Provident Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.00.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.24 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.03. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 7.31%. The firm had revenue of $114.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.50 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 26th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.00%.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 3.1% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,261,425 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $34,577,000 after buying an additional 68,856 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,885,897 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $34,003,000 after buying an additional 34,730 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 938,254 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $16,917,000 after buying an additional 48,425 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 630,297 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $11,364,000 after purchasing an additional 11,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $9,419,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.