New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 213,137 Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 213,137 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,209,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PFS. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 358.0% during the 2nd 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. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,100 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 71.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,494 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,454 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In other news, CEO George Lista sold 2,556 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.40, for a total value of $57,254.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 109,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,447,468.80. This trade represents a 2.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PFS. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $25.00 price objective on Provident Financial Services in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.92.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of PFS opened at $22.05 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $21.76 and a 200-day moving average of $21.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 52 week low of $15.92 and a 52 week high of $23.98.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $225.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $225.62 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.98% and a net margin of 21.95%.The business’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, January 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.81 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the savings and loans company to reacquire up to 0.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.85%.

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.