Sound Income Strategies LLC Purchases New Holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Key Points

• Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services by purchasing 544,687 shares, valued at approximately $9,548,000.
• Institutional investors currently hold 71.97% of Provident Financial Services' stock, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Recent earnings showed Provident Financial Services reported a profit of $0.55 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a consensus price target currently set at $22.70.

Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 544,687 shares of the savings and loans company's stock, valued at approximately $9,548,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC owned approximately 0.42% of Provident Financial Services at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PFS. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 241,627 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $4,560,000 after purchasing an additional 43,849 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 9,296.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 25,841 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 25,566 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $428,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 23.1% in the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 32,474 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $558,000 after purchasing an additional 6,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Provident Financial Services

In other news, Director John Pugliese sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.91, for a total value of $497,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 87,907 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,750,228.37. The trade was a 22.14% decrease in their position. 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 business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.90, for a total transaction of $59,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at $788,696.70. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Monday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Thursday, June 26th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $21.00 target price for the company. Finally, Hovde Group lifted their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.70.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

PFS opened at $19.59 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $19.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.72. 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 52 week low of $14.34 and a 52 week high of $22.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a PE ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 0.94.

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, beating 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 analyst estimates of $213.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.11) EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

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 $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Provident Financial Services's payout ratio is 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.

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