XTX Topco Ltd Invests $242,000 in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS)

Key Points

• XTX Topco Ltd has acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services, purchasing 14,085 shares valued at approximately $242,000.
• Provident Financial Services reported an EPS of $0.55 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.50 and indicating a strong performance compared to the previous year's loss.
• The company's stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" among analysts, with an average target price of $22.70, reflecting positive sentiment in the market.

XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 14,085 shares of the savings and loans company's stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PFS. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $17,447,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $6,994,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 37.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 878,493 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $16,577,000 after purchasing an additional 240,522 shares during the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 1,105,103 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $20,853,000 after purchasing an additional 212,395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1,082.6% in the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 146,592 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $2,766,000 after purchasing an additional 134,196 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PFS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Provident Financial Services in a report on Thursday, June 26th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $21.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $22.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Christopher P. Martin sold 55,668 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of PFS stock traded down $0.49 on Friday, hitting $18.78. The stock had a trading volume of 720,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 663,473. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61 and a beta of 0.89. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 1 year low of $14.34 and a 1 year high of $22.24. The company's 50 day moving average price is $17.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.42.

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

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is 54.24%.

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.