Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS Shares Acquired by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) by 104.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 281,106 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after purchasing an additional 143,638 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $5,951,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PFS. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 45,333 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $895,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 29,888 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,752 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 25,075 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the period. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,462 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO George Lista sold 2,556 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.40, for a total transaction of $57,254.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 109,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,447,468.80. This represents a 2.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.02% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $23.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 1 year low of $17.61 and a 1 year high of $24.56. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $22.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.13.

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, beating 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 company had revenue of $225.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. Provident Financial Services’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

About Provident Financial Services

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.