Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $22.24 and last traded at $21.91, with a volume of 114585 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $21.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on PFS. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com cut Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 1.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The business has a 50 day moving average of $19.36 and a 200-day moving average of $17.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.25 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 5.21%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.31%.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PFS. LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the third quarter worth about $508,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services during the second quarter worth $6,990,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 37.8% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 222,849 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $3,198,000 after acquiring an additional 61,179 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $766,000. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,613,000. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.