Vito Giannola Sells 20,000 Shares of Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Stock

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) EVP Vito Giannola sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.36, for a total transaction of $487,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 56,424 shares in the company, valued at $1,374,488.64. This trade represents a 26.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 0.2%

PFS opened at $23.65 on Friday. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a twelve month low of $17.69 and a twelve month high of $25.49. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $23.90 and a 200-day moving average of $22.68. The stock has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 9.85 and a beta of 0.78.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $234.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson set a $26.00 target price on Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $29.00 price objective (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Hovde Group increased their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $26.50 to $28.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.79.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 82.0% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 341,162 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $7,219,000 after acquiring an additional 153,698 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,209,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,868,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 998,562 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $23,606,000 after purchasing an additional 64,251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,070,734 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $170,775,000 after purchasing an additional 256,540 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.