Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS Shares Bought by Empowered Funds LLC

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 22.1%, now owning 323,515 shares valued at approximately $5.6 million.
• Provident Financial recently reported earnings of $0.55 per share, exceeding expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24, yielding 4.8% annually.
• Multiple analysts have given Provident Financial a consensus "Buy" rating with a target price average of $22.70, indicating positive market sentiment.

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 22.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 323,515 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after buying an additional 58,582 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.25% of Provident Financial Services worth $5,555,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PFS. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 84.5% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,207,898 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $55,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,469,432 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the first quarter valued at $17,412,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 5.2% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,584,298 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $44,372,000 after purchasing an additional 127,897 shares during the last quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 50.0% in the first quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 300,000 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $5,151,000 after purchasing an additional 100,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in Provident Financial Services by 27.3% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 413,806 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $7,105,000 after buying an additional 88,663 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In other news, Director John Pugliese sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.91, for a total value of $497,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 87,907 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,750,228.37. This represents a 22.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.90, for a total value of $59,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $788,696.70. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 0.2%

PFS traded up $0.05 on Tuesday, reaching $19.62. 323,199 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 641,042. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a twelve month low of $14.34 and a twelve month high of $22.24. The company's 50 day moving average is $19.00 and its 200-day moving average is $17.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.09 and a beta of 0.94.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 16.97% and a return on equity of 8.80%. The company had revenue of $214.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $213.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.11) earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on PFS shares. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Provident Financial Services from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $21.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.70.

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.