Provident Financial Services, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.24 (NYSE:PFS)

Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 29th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of 0.24 per share by the savings and loans company on Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th.

Provident Financial Services has increased its dividend by an average of 1.1% per year over the last three years. Provident Financial Services has a dividend payout ratio of 40.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Provident Financial Services to earn $2.13 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 45.1%.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE:PFS traded down $0.84 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $18.35. 1,463,676 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 595,838. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $19.69 and its 200-day moving average is $19.02. The stock has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Provident Financial Services has a 1-year low of $13.07 and a 1-year high of $22.24.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.13). Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 5.21%. Equities research analysts expect that Provident Financial Services will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total value of $73,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $715,223.52. This trade represents a 9.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PFS shares. Hovde Group started coverage on Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.50.

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.