Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $1.23 Million Position in Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 57,900 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,225,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 18.7% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 934,311 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $19,770,000 after acquiring an additional 147,139 shares in the last quarter. Flywheel Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $212,000. Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 15,996 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 2,354 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 137,468 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $2,709,000 after purchasing an additional 3,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $401,000. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In other news, CEO George Lista sold 2,556 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 109,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,447,468.80. The trade was a 2.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on PFS shares. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Monday, March 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.79.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 0.0%

PFS stock opened at $23.53 on Friday. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 1-year low of $17.61 and a 1-year high of $24.24. The firm has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.01 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50 day moving average is $22.63 and its 200-day moving average is $21.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

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

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.85%.

Provident Financial Services 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.