Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Director Thomas Shara Sells 40,266 Shares

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) Director Thomas Shara sold 40,266 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.06, for a total value of $928,533.96. Following the sale, the director owned 382,911 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,829,927.66. This represents a 9.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Thomas Shara also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, August 31st, Thomas Shara sold 15,900 shares of Provident Financial Services stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.30, for a total transaction of $370,470.00.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of PFS opened at $22.95 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.68. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 1-year low of $17.69 and a 1-year high of $25.49. The company has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.56 and a beta of 0.78.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.04. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 11.00%. The firm had revenue of $234.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $225.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PFS shares. Hovde Group boosted their price target 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. Stephens initiated coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated 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, August 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.79.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 during the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Nykredit A S bought a new position in Provident Financial Services in the second quarter valued at about $55,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services during the third quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, First Bancorp Inc ME acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services during the second quarter worth about $86,000. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

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.