Insider Selling: Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Director Sells 25,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Director John Pugliese sold 25,000 shares of Provident Financial Services stock for $497,750, representing a 22.14% decrease in his ownership.
• The company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.55, surpassing analysts' expectations, with total revenue of $214.17 million for the quarter.
• Provident Financial Services declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, yielding an annualized dividend of 4.8%, with a payout ratio of 54.24%.

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) Director John Pugliese sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.91, for a total value of $497,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 87,907 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,750,228.37. This trade represents a 22.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock traded down $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $19.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 139,499 shares, compared to its average volume of 642,276. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $18.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.27 and a beta of 0.94. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 12-month low of $14.34 and a 12-month high of $22.24.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.11) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson upped their target price on 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 initiated coverage on Provident Financial Services in a report on Thursday, June 26th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $21.00 price target for the company. Finally, Hovde Group increased their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $22.70.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PFS. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 84.5% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,207,898 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $55,080,000 after purchasing an additional 1,469,432 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the first quarter valued at about $17,412,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the second quarter valued at about $10,545,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the second quarter worth about $9,548,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 251.3% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 413,107 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $7,242,000 after acquiring an additional 295,521 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company's stock.

Provident Financial Services Company 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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