Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 30.5%, now owning 92,850 shares after selling 40,809 shares in the first quarter.
• Provident Financial Services recently reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding analyst estimates of $0.50, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Buy" for Provident Financial Services, with a price target of $22.70, indicating potential growth in the stock.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 30.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,850 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 40,809 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Provident Financial Services worth $1,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 447.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 193.8% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 2,938 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 1,938 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted 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 buying an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $156,000. 71.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 owned by corporate insiders.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE PFS traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $19.96. 167,885 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 647,674. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.29 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a twelve month low of $14.34 and a twelve month high of $22.24.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $214.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $213.39 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 16.97% and a return on equity of 8.80%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.11) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 (DPR) is currently 54.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFS has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Hovde Group increased their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a 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 MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $22.70.

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.