Salzhauer Michael Increases Stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS)

Salzhauer Michael lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) by 17.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,201 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after buying an additional 10,358 shares during the quarter. Salzhauer Michael’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $1,205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PFS. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 14,240 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 13,172 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 191,748 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $3,618,000 after purchasing an additional 730 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 13,422 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 39,764 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $750,000 after purchasing an additional 828 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In related news, Chairman Christopher P. Martin sold 55,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.07, for a total value of $950,252.76. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 601,050 shares in the company, valued at $10,259,923.50. The trade was a 8.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of PFS stock opened at $16.95 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $16.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 1 year low of $13.07 and a 1 year high of $22.24. The firm has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.27 and a beta of 0.86.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $208.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $206.86 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 6.38% and a net margin of 11.45%. The business’s revenue was up 82.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. Analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 86.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.25.

About Provident Financial Services

Provident Financial Services, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Provident Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. Its deposit products include savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, money market deposit, and certificate of deposit accounts, as well as IRA products.