Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $23.98 and last traded at $23.92, with a volume of 111085 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $25.00 target price on Provident Financial Services in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. DA Davidson cut Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.70.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 0.4%

The company has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.63.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The savings and loans company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.08. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 21.06%.The business had revenue of $225.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $224.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.05%.

Provident Financial Services announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, January 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.81 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the savings and loans company to reacquire up to 0.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 358.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Provident Financial Services by 45.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 548 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 633.8% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,040 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,762 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

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.