Bank of New York Mellon Corp Purchases New Stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon acquired 1.56 million shares of Provident Financial Services, valued at approximately $36.9 million and representing about 1.2% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 71.97% of PFS.
• Provident Financial Services exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.60 EPS versus the $0.56 consensus and revenue of $234.96 million. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.24, equal to a 4.1% annualized yield.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.79, compared with the stock’s recent price of $23.52.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,561,575 shares of the savings and loans company's stock, valued at approximately $36,916,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 1.20% of Provident Financial Services as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 10.0% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 576,673 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 38.1% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 342,301 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 251.3% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 413,107 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $7,242,000 after purchasing an additional 295,521 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,070,734 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $170,775,000 after buying an additional 256,540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 493.6% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 301,329 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $5,951,000 after acquiring an additional 250,566 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:PFS opened at $23.52 on Friday. 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 $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.80 and a beta of 0.78. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 1-year low of $17.69 and a 1-year high of $25.49. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $23.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.69.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $234.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.36, for a total transaction of $487,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 56,424 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,374,488.64. This trade represents a 26.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $29.00 target price (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, July 31st. Stephens began coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Hovde Group boosted their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $26.50 to $28.50 and gave the company 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 report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $26.79.

Provident Financial Services Company 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.

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