Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $24.07 and last traded at $23.9630, with a volume of 109915 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.64.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $27.00 price objective (up from $25.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.79.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 2.4%

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $22.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.85%.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In related news, CEO George Lista sold 2,556 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.40, for a total transaction of $57,254.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 109,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,447,468.80. This trade represents a 2.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 2,957.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 787,172 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $15,547,000 after buying an additional 761,427 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 40.4% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,308,774 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $44,513,000 after acquiring an additional 664,021 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,359,098 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $122,603,000 after purchasing an additional 576,673 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 38.1% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,239,628 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $24,483,000 after purchasing an additional 342,301 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 251.3% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 413,107 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $7,242,000 after purchasing an additional 295,521 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.