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

Posted by Stanley Muller on Aug 5th, 2026

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Get Our Latest Research Report on PFS

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 0.2%

The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $23.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.38. The firm has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.52 and a beta of 0.78.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $234.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $225.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 40.00%.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In other news, CEO George Lista sold 2,556 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.40, for a total value of $57,254.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 109,262 shares in the company, valued at $2,447,468.80. This represents a 2.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PFS. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 23.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 44,106 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $758,000 after buying an additional 8,507 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 74,926 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,286,000 after acquiring an additional 3,277 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 6.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 256,739 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $4,408,000 after acquiring an additional 15,112 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 247.5% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 312,478 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $5,365,000 after acquiring an additional 222,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 45.6% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 73,261 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,258,000 after acquiring an additional 22,961 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

About Provident Financial Services

(Get Free Report)

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.