Insider Selling: Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) EVP Sells $70,080.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Insider sale: EVP James Christy sold 3,000 Provident Financial Services shares for $70,080, reducing his direct ownership by 6.51% to 43,083 shares.
• Financial performance: Provident reported quarterly earnings of $0.60 per share, exceeding estimates by $0.04, while revenue of $234.96 million also surpassed expectations.
• Investor outlook: The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, representing a 4.1% yield, and analysts give the stock a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $26.79.

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) EVP James Christy sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.36, for a total transaction of $70,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,418.88. This trade represents a 6.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of PFS traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $23.32. The company had a trading volume of 908,123 shares, compared to its average volume of 953,831. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 12-month low of $17.69 and a 12-month high of $25.49. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.73. The company has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.72 and a beta of 0.77.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.04. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 11.00%. The firm had revenue of $234.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $29.00 price objective (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, July 31st. DA Davidson set a $26.00 target price on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Hovde Group upped their target price on Provident Financial Services from $26.50 to $28.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $26.79.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 18.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 63,534 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $1,502,000 after purchasing an additional 9,998 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $355,000. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 76.8% during the 2nd quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 39,894 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $943,000 after buying an additional 17,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services during the second quarter worth $443,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company's stock.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

Provident Financial Services, Inc is the parent company of Provident Bank, a full-service community bank serving individuals, families, businesses and nonprofit organizations. The company provides a range of banking products, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential mortgages, home equity loans, commercial real estate financing, commercial and industrial loans, and consumer lending.

Through its banking operations, Provident also offers cash management, online and mobile banking, wealth management, trust services and other financial solutions.

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