Summit Global Investments Purchases New Position in Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Summit Global Investments purchased a new stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 37,726 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $798,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,210 shares in the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the third quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $73,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In other news, CEO George Lista sold 2,556 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.40, for a total value of $57,254.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 109,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,447,468.80. This trade represents a 2.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on PFS. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Stephens started coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Provident Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.79.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Provident Financial Services stock opened at $24.02 on Wednesday. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 12 month low of $17.61 and a 12 month high of $24.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 10.22 and a beta of 0.78.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.06. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.98% and a net margin of 21.95%.The firm had revenue of $225.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.62 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.85%.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

Provident Financial Services, Inc is the bank holding company for Provident Bank, a regional commercial bank headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. The company operates a network of full-service branches across New Jersey, the New York metropolitan area and eastern Pennsylvania, offering a range of personal and business banking solutions.

Its core products and services include checking and savings accounts, consumer and residential mortgage loans, commercial real estate financing and small-business lending.