Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $24.29 and last traded at $24.3540, with a volume of 87306 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PFS shares. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Stephens began coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings raised Provident Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.79.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 2.1%

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.23 and a beta of 0.78.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $225.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $225.62 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 21.95% and a return on equity of 10.98%. Provident Financial Services’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 40.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Provident Financial Services news, CEO George Lista sold 2,556 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.40, for a total value of $57,254.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 109,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,447,468.80. This represents a 2.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 3.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 45,333 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $895,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in Provident Financial Services by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 29,888 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 19,782 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 652 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,752 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 25,075 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 769 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

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.