Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Sets New 52-Week Low at $13.21

Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $13.21 and last traded at $14.25, with a volume of 114723 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $13.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced 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 report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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 report on Tuesday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Provident Financial Services has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.50.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 3.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 8.44 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $14.78 and its 200 day moving average is $15.65.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.03. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 18.46% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The business had revenue of $114.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $114.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PFS. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 12,296 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 1,986 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 67,130 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,571,000 after buying an additional 4,031 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 15,646 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 4,877 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 69.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 36,093 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $855,000 after buying an additional 14,853 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.