Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) to Issue $0.24 Quarterly Dividend

Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, October 29th,NASDAQ Dividends reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of 0.24 per share by the savings and loans company on Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th.

Provident Financial Services has increased its dividend by an average of 1.4% annually over the last three years. Provident Financial Services has a dividend payout ratio of 45.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities 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 Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of PFS opened at $21.32 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $18.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Provident Financial Services has a 12-month low of $13.07 and a 12-month high of $22.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PFS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.67.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In related news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total value of $99,476.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,656 shares in the company, valued at $1,603,787.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.