Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS Shares Bought by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 27.3%, acquiring an additional 88,663 shares, bringing its total ownership to 413,806 shares valued at approximately $7.1 million.
• Provident Financial Services reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.55, exceeding analysts' expectations and marking a significant turnaround from a loss in the same quarter the previous year.
• The company declared a $0.24 per share dividend, which will be paid to shareholders on August 29th, reflecting a 5.1% yield based on an annualized figure of $0.96.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 27.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 413,806 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after purchasing an additional 88,663 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.32% of Provident Financial Services worth $7,105,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PFS. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 193.8% in the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 2,938 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,938 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 805.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,968 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 3,530 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Christopher P. Martin sold 55,668 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.07, for a total transaction of $950,252.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 601,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,259,923.50. This represents a 8.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson increased their target price on Provident Financial Services from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $21.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Hovde Group boosted 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Provident Financial Services has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.70.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

PFS traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $18.74. 60,771 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 658,061. 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 12 month low of $14.34 and a 12 month high of $22.24. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.41. The stock has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 0.89.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $213.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.11) earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.24%.

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.