James Christy Sells 3,000 Shares of Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Stock

Key Points

• James Christy, an executive vice president at Provident Financial Services, sold 3,000 shares at an average price of $19.90, totaling approximately $59,700, reducing his ownership by 7.04%.
• Provident Financial Services reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.55, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.50, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, yielding 4.9%.
• Brokerages have increased their price targets for Provident Financial Services, with Hovde Group raising it to $23.50 and DA Davidson to $24.00, reflecting a generally positive outlook for the stock.

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) EVP James Christy sold 3,000 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 39,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $788,696.70. The trade was a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

PFS traded down $0.11 during trading on Monday, hitting $19.71. 59,388 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 640,799. 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 cap of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 0.94. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $18.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.55.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.55 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 business had revenue of $214.17 million during 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Provident Financial Services's payout ratio is currently 54.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PFS. Hovde Group upped their price target 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. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Thursday, June 26th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $21.00 price target for the company. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. One investment 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 presently 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 institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PFS. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 447.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 358.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 633.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,040 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,762 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 193.8% during the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 2,938 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,938 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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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