Haverford Trust Co Buys New Stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Haverford Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 10,071 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $187,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 991.2% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,685 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 43.0% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,050 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth approximately $76,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1,779.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,876 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $146,000 after buying an additional 7,457 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total transaction of $99,476.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,787.04. This represents a 5.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of PFS opened at $21.42 on Friday. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.07 and a 52-week high of $22.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.03. The company has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60 and a beta of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $349.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.25 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 9.55%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.48%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 92.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on PFS. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.67.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

Provident Financial Services, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Provident Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. Its deposit products include savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, money market deposit, and certificate of deposit accounts, as well as IRA products.