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

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) EVP James Christy sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.36, for a total value of $70,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,418.88. This represents a 6.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $23.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The business’s 50 day moving average is $23.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.76. The company has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.66 and a beta of 0.77. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 12 month low of $17.69 and a 12 month high of $25.49.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $234.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $225.57 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 11.00% and a net margin of 22.15%.During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 price target (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Hovde Group raised their target price on Provident Financial Services from $26.50 to $28.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.79.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nykredit A S bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the second quarter worth about $55,000. First Bancorp Inc ME bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $176,000. Baron Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth $212,000. Finally, Flywheel Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 1st quarter valued at $212,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

About Provident Financial Services

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.