Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Hits New 1-Year Low at $13.07

Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $13.07 and last traded at $13.18, with a volume of 58381 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. TheStreet downgraded Provident Financial Services from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. DA Davidson upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $15.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.00.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 8.53 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $14.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.51.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.03. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 7.31%. The business had revenue of $114.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $114.50 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 26th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.04%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 60.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PFS. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Provident Financial Services by 3.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,261,425 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $34,577,000 after purchasing an additional 68,856 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its position in Provident Financial Services by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,885,897 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $34,003,000 after buying an additional 34,730 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 938,254 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $16,917,000 after acquiring an additional 48,425 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 630,297 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $11,364,000 after acquiring an additional 11,778 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $9,419,000. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

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.