Janus Henderson Group PLC Boosts Holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) by 9.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 329,212 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,883 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $6,967,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 358.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,210 shares in the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the third quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $73,000. 71.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on PFS shares. Hovde Group increased their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $26.50 to $28.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler restated 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $28.00 price target (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Monday. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on 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. Finally, Stephens started coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.79.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO George Lista sold 2,556 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.40, for a total transaction of $57,254.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 109,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,447,468.80. This represents a 2.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.02% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of PFS opened at $25.14 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.47 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.41. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a twelve month low of $17.69 and a twelve month high of $25.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $234.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 40.00%.

Provident Financial Services Profile

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.