Provident Financial Services, Inc (PFS) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.24 on November 27th

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share by the savings and loans company on Friday, November 27th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th.

Provident Financial Services has a dividend payout ratio of 42.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Provident Financial Services to earn $2.58 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 37.2%.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 0.6%

PFS stock opened at $23.16 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Provident Financial Services has a 52-week low of $17.70 and a 52-week high of $25.49. The firm has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.79 and a beta of 0.82.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.04. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 21.73%. The company had revenue of $238.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $235.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services will post 2.40 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PFS. Weiss Ratings upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. DA Davidson set a $26.00 price target on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Hovde Group upped their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $26.50 to $28.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $29.00 price objective (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.79.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

Provident Financial Services, Inc. is the bank holding company for Provident Bank, a community-focused financial institution. The bank traces its history to 1839, when it was established in Jersey City, New Jersey. Provident Bank provides personal and business banking services, including deposit accounts, residential mortgages, consumer loans and commercial lending. It also offers wealth management, trust and fiduciary services. The company primarily serves customers in New Jersey and the surrounding New York metropolitan region, with operations extending into eastern Pennsylvania.