Key Points
- Director Thomas Shara sold 40,266 PFS shares at an average price of $23.06, generating approximately $928,534. Following the transaction, he retained 382,911 shares, a 9.52% reduction in his position; he also sold 15,900 shares the previous day.
- Provident Financial Services shares opened at $22.95, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $0.60, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.56. The bank also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.24, equal to a 4.2% annualized yield.
- Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $26.79, above the current share price. Institutional investors own approximately 71.97% of the company.
Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) Director Thomas Shara sold 15,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.30, for a total transaction of $370,470.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 423,177 shares in the company, valued at $9,860,024.10. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.
Thomas Shara also recently made the following trade(s):
- On Tuesday, September 1st, Thomas Shara sold 40,266 shares of Provident Financial Services stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.06, for a total transaction of $928,533.96.
Provident Financial Services Price Performance
Shares of NYSE:PFS opened at $22.95 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.68. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a one year low of $17.69 and a one year high of $25.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.56 and a beta of 0.78.
Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $234.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $225.57 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 11.00% and a net margin of 22.15%.During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.
Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.00%.
Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services
A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFS. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 2,218.2% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,310,664 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $78,264,000 after buying an additional 3,167,850 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,916,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,359,098 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $122,603,000 after acquiring an additional 576,673 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 38.1% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,239,628 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $24,483,000 after acquiring an additional 342,301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Provident Financial Services by 251.3% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 413,107 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $7,242,000 after buying an additional 295,521 shares in the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PFS shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $29.00 price target (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $26.50 to $28.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. DA Davidson set a $26.00 target price on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Stephens began coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. One investment 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $26.79.
View Our Latest Stock Report on PFS
Provident Financial Services Company Profile
(
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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