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

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) EVP James Christy sold 3,000 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.36, for a total value of $70,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,006,418.88. This represents a 6.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:PFS traded down $0.02 on Tuesday, reaching $23.32. The stock had a trading volume of 908,123 shares, compared to its average volume of 953,831. The company has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.72 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $23.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.73. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 12-month low of $17.69 and a 12-month high of $25.49.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $234.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period last year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 63,534 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,502,000 after purchasing an additional 9,998 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth $55,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth $355,000. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 76.8% in the 2nd quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 39,894 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $943,000 after buying an additional 17,333 shares during the period. Finally, BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth $443,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on PFS shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. DA Davidson set a $26.00 price objective on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Stephens initiated coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $29.00 target price (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their target price on Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.79.

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.