Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in Provident Financial Services, owning 7,722,724 shares after selling 16,060 shares, now valued at approximately $132.6 million.
• Provident Financial Services reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.55, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.50, with revenue of $214.17 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 5.1%, with the dividend payout ratio at 54.24%.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its position in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 0.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,722,724 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 16,060 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 5.92% of Provident Financial Services worth $132,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 649,485 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $11,152,000 after acquiring an additional 16,941 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 447.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 101,830 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $1,922,000 after buying an additional 21,993 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 71,649 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $1,352,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth about $242,000. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $19.99. The company had a trading volume of 146,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 653,634. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a one year low of $14.34 and a one year high of $22.24. The firm has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of 11.29 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.41.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 8.80% and a net margin of 16.97%.The company had revenue of $214.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $213.39 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.11) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 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, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is 54.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Hovde Group lifted their target price on Provident Financial Services from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Provident Financial Services presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.70.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Christopher P. Martin sold 55,668 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.07, for a total transaction of $950,252.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 601,050 shares in the company, valued at $10,259,923.50. This trade represents a 8.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Provident Financial Services Profile

Provident Financial Services, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Provident Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. Its deposit products include savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, money market deposit, and certificate of deposit accounts, as well as IRA products.