Janus Henderson Group PLC Increases Stock Holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) by 9.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 329,212 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,883 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned 0.25% of Provident Financial Services worth $6,967,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,210 shares during the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $73,000. 71.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Provident Financial Services

In other news, CEO George Lista sold 2,556 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was 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 directly owned 109,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,447,468.80. The trade was a 2.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on PFS. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Stephens initiated 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 on the stock. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. 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 report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $29.00 price target (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.79.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of PFS stock opened at $25.14 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.47 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $23.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.41. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a one year low of $17.69 and a one year high of $25.49.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $234.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.57 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 11.00%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.00%.

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.