Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) CEO George Lista Sells 2,556 Shares of Stock

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) CEO George Lista sold 2,556 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 109,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,447,468.80. The trade was a 2.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

PFS stock opened at $21.99 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $21.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.36 and a beta of 0.80. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 1 year low of $15.92 and a 1 year high of $23.98.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.06. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.98% and a net margin of 21.95%.The business had revenue of $225.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

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

Provident Financial Services announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, January 26th that permits the company to buyback $2.81 million in 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 programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PFS. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,210 shares in the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services during the third quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 40.9% in the third quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,100 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.