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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on PFS shares. DA Davidson increased their price objective 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 upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 0.2 %

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $19.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.41. The stock has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.47 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

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

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.31%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $508,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,990,000. Royce & Associates LP purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $766,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 37.8% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 222,849 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $3,198,000 after purchasing an additional 61,179 shares during the period. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,613,000. Hedge funds and other 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.