South Dakota Investment Council Acquires Shares of 39,000 Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

South Dakota Investment Council acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 39,000 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $825,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PFS. Amundi raised its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 90.7% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 51,277 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 24,392 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 18.8% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 142,814 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $3,022,000 after acquiring an additional 22,617 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 4.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 584,848 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $12,375,000 after acquiring an additional 27,345 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 7.4% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 88,709 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,877,000 after acquiring an additional 6,101 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 27,084 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 1,547 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO George Lista sold 2,556 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.40, for a total transaction of $57,254.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 109,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,447,468.80. This trade represents a 2.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFS opened at $24.65 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $23.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 12 month low of $17.61 and a 12 month high of $25.41.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 11.00% and a net margin of 22.15%.The business had revenue of $234.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $225.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday. 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. Hovde Group upped their price target on Provident Financial Services from $26.50 to $28.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $29.00 price target (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.50.

Key Headlines Impacting Provident Financial Services

Here are the key news stories impacting Provident Financial Services this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst targets raised: Piper Sandler reaffirmed its “overweight” rating and lifted its price target from $26 to $29, implying approximately 17.6% upside from the referenced price. Hovde Group also raised its target from $26.50 to $28.50 and upgraded PFS to “outperform.” These revisions indicate stronger analyst confidence in the bank’s earnings outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter earnings beat estimates: PFS reported earnings of $0.60 per share, exceeding the $0.56 consensus estimate and rising from $0.55 a year earlier. Revenue reached approximately $235 million, also above expectations. Provident Financial Services Q2 Earnings, Revenue Rise
• Positive Sentiment: Improving banking fundamentals: Net interest income increased to $202.7 million, while net interest margin expanded to 3.48% from 3.40% in the prior quarter and 3.36% a year earlier. Non-interest income also grew year over year, supported by wealth-management and insurance-agency revenue. Deposits and total assets increased from year-end 2025.
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend maintained: The company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.24 per share, equal to $0.96 annually and an indicated yield of about 3.9%. The dividend is payable August 28 to shareholders of record August 14. Provident Financial Services Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: PFS trades at roughly 10 times earnings, which may support the view that the shares remain reasonably valued following the earnings beat and analyst upgrades.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider activity was limited to sales, with three insiders selling shares during the past six months and no reported purchases. This may modestly temper otherwise positive sentiment, although the transactions do not necessarily indicate a change in the company’s outlook.

About Provident Financial Services

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.