Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $25.49 and last traded at $25.24, with a volume of 1257554 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $25.18.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. DA Davidson set a $26.00 target price on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Hovde Group raised their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $26.50 to $28.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Provident Financial Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.79.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $23.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 0.78.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 11.00%. The business had revenue of $234.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.41 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, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PFS. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the second quarter worth about $36,916,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 998,562 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $23,606,000 after purchasing an additional 64,251 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 57.0% in the 1st quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 25,420 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 9,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 23.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 624,648 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $13,218,000 after buying an additional 118,432 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

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.