Key Points
- Chairman Christopher Martin sold 1,050 shares at an average price of $23.45 for $24,622.50, leaving him with 600,000 shares—a 0.17% reduction in his position.
- Earnings beat: Provident reported $0.64 EPS vs. $0.56 consensus and revenue of $225.03M (up 9.6% YoY); the stock trades with a P/E of 10.69 and a market cap around $3.11B.
- The board authorized a $2.81M share buyback (up to ~0.1% of shares) and declared a $0.24 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.96, ~4.0% yield; ex-dividend Feb 13, payable Feb 27).
Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) Chairman Christopher Martin sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.45, for a total value of $24,622.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 600,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,070,000. This trade represents a 0.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.
Provident Financial Services Price Performance
PFS opened at $23.83 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $20.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.62. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 52-week low of $14.34 and a 52-week high of $23.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.
Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The savings and loans company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.08. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 21.06% and a return on equity of 10.69%. The business had revenue of $225.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $224.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.
Provident Financial Services announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, January 26th that permits the company to buyback $2.81 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the savings and loans company to repurchase up to 0.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.
Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.05%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 358.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 45.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 548 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 633.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,040 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,762 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
PFS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson cut Provident Financial Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $25.00 price target on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.70.
Read Our Latest Report on Provident Financial Services
About Provident Financial Services
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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