Kiker Wealth Management LLC Acquires New Position in Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Key Points

• Kiker Wealth Management LLC has acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc, purchasing 90,208 shares valued at approximately $1.58 million, making it the 22nd largest holding in their portfolio.
• Over 71.97% of Provident Financial Services' stock is owned by institutional investors, with several firms increasing their stakes in the company.
• Provident Financial Services recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, representing a dividend yield of 5.1%.

Kiker Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 90,208 shares of the savings and loans company's stock, valued at approximately $1,581,000. Provident Financial Services accounts for 0.9% of Kiker Wealth Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Kiker Wealth Management LLC owned 0.07% of Provident Financial Services as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC now owns 49,643 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 645 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,893 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.0% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 72,088 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $1,238,000 after buying an additional 699 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.8% during the first quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 50,025 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $859,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Finally, Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.3% during the second quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 90,783 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $1,591,000 after buying an additional 1,127 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PFS. Zacks Research cut Provident Financial Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. Hovde Group upped their price target 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Provident Financial Services presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.70.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 2.4%

PFS stock opened at $18.92 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company's 50 day moving average is $19.39 and its 200 day moving average is $17.89. The stock has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 0.91. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 1-year low of $14.34 and a 1-year high of $22.24.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 17th. The savings and loans company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $114.54 million for the quarter. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 16.97% and a return on equity of 8.80%. Sell-side analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is 54.24%.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In other Provident Financial Services news, Director John Pugliese sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 through the SEC website. Also, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The stock was 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 directly owned 39,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $788,696.70. This represents a 7.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Provident Financial Services

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.

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