Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Q4 2023 Earnings Conference Call January 26, 2024 10:00 AM ET
Company Participants
Adriano Duarte - IR Officer
Anthony Labozzetta - President & CEO
Tom Lyons - SEVP & CFO
Conference Call Participants
Mark Fitzgibbon - Piper Sandler
Bill Young - RBC Capital Markets
Michael Perito - KBW
Operator
Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Provident Financial Services, Inc. Fourth Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call.
I would now like to welcome, Adriano Duarte, Investor Relations Officer to begin the call. Adriano, over to you.
Adriano Duarte
Thank you, Mandeep. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for our fourth quarter earnings call. Today's presenters are President and CEO, Tony Labozzetta; and Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Tom Lyons.
Before beginning the review of our financial results, we ask that you please take note of our standard caution, as to any forward-looking statements that may be made during the course of today's call. Our disclaimer is contained in last evening's earnings release, which has been posted to the Investor Relations page on our website, provident.bank.
Now it's my pleasure to introduce Tony Labozzetta who will offer his perspective on the quarter. Thanks. Tony?
Anthony Labozzetta
Thank you, Adriano. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Provident Financial Services earnings call. The fourth quarter was characterized by moderate economic growth, fluctuating interest rates and continued industry-wide funding challenges, resulting in reduced profits for many regional banks.
Provident has navigated these complexities with resilience, bolstered by a commitment to our robust risk management and customer centric approach. Provident produced good core financial results this quarter, which once again demonstrates the stability of our franchise and the strength of our management team.
As such, we reported earnings of $0.36 per share, an annualized return on average assets of 0.77%, and a return on average tangible equity of 9.47%. Excluding merger related charges and contingent litigation reserves, our pre-tax pre-provision return on average assets was 1.25% for the fourth quarter.
At quarter end, our capital was strong and exceeded well capitalized. Tangible book value per share increased 5.9% to $16.32. Our tangible common equity ratio was 8.96%. As such, our Board of Directors approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.24 per share, payable on February 23.
During the quarter, our average core deposits remain very stable. Our rising rate cycle-to-date deposit beta was approximately 33.5%, which is well below average based on available data and we believe is among the best in our peer group. Our deposit beta and steady deposit levels reflect the quality of our deposit base.