13,909 Shares in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) Acquired by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH has acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc, purchasing 13,909 shares valued at approximately $239,000 in the first quarter of 2023.
• Provident Financial Services reported earnings per share of $0.55 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.50, along with a revenue of $214.17 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, yielding 5.3%, with the payout to be made on August 29th to stockholders of record by August 15th.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 13,909 shares of the savings and loans company's stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 2.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 649,485 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $11,152,000 after purchasing an additional 16,941 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position 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 during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 101,830 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 21,993 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 71,649 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $1,352,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $296,000. 71.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on PFS. Hovde Group upped their price target on Provident Financial Services from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on Provident Financial Services in a report on Thursday, June 26th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.70.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In related news, Chairman Christopher P. Martin sold 55,668 shares of the business'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 value of $950,252.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 601,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,259,923.50. The trade was a 8.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of PFS traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $18.08. The company had a trading volume of 544,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 665,815. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company's 50-day moving average is $17.68 and its 200-day moving average is $17.44. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a twelve month low of $14.34 and a twelve month high of $22.24. The company has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio 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.