Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) EVP James Christy Sells 3,000 Shares

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) EVP James Christy sold 3,000 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.36, for a total transaction of $70,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,083 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,418.88. This trade represents a 6.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock opened at $23.32 on Wednesday. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 52-week low of $17.69 and a 52-week high of $25.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.72 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a fifty day moving average of $23.93 and a 200-day moving average of $22.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $234.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $225.57 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 11.00%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $28.00 target price (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Hovde Group lifted their price target on Provident Financial Services from $26.50 to $28.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Stephens started coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.79.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 23.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 624,648 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $13,218,000 after buying an additional 118,432 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 82.0% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 341,162 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $7,219,000 after acquiring an additional 153,698 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,209,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,916,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 998,562 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $23,606,000 after acquiring an additional 64,251 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

About Provident Financial Services

Provident Financial Services, Inc is the parent company of Provident Bank, a full-service community bank serving individuals, families, businesses and nonprofit organizations. The company provides a range of banking products, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential mortgages, home equity loans, commercial real estate financing, commercial and industrial loans, and consumer lending.

Through its banking operations, Provident also offers cash management, online and mobile banking, wealth management, trust services and other financial solutions.