Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 210,163 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) by 67.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 99,330 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 210,163 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $1,962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 155.9% during the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 48,184 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $929,000 after purchasing an additional 29,356 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the third quarter worth about $444,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 14.4% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 509,475 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $9,823,000 after purchasing an additional 64,026 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 40.4% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,308,774 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $44,513,000 after purchasing an additional 664,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,096,733 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $21,145,000 after acquiring an additional 279,216 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In other news, CEO George Lista sold 2,556 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at $2,447,468.80. This represents a 2.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Provident Financial Services stock opened at $22.42 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.54 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $21.80 and its 200 day moving average is $21.08. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a twelve month low of $15.92 and a twelve month high of $23.98.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $225.20 million for 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%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PFS. Piper Sandler began coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research note on Monday, March 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Provident Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $25.00 target price on Provident Financial Services in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.92.

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.