Summit Global Investments Buys Shares of 37,726 Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Summit Global Investments purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 37,726 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $798,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 358.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,210 shares during the period. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO George Lista sold 2,556 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.40, for a total value of $57,254.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 109,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,447,468.80. This represents a 2.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Stephens assumed coverage on 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. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.79.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock opened at $24.02 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 52-week low of $17.61 and a 52-week high of $24.56. The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.22 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.91 and a 200 day moving average of $22.07.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.06. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 21.95% and a return on equity of 10.98%. The company had revenue of $225.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 40.85%.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

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.