Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) CEO Acquires $16,730.00 in Stock

Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) CEO George Lista bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.73 per share, for a total transaction of $16,730.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $166,563.88. This represents a 11.17 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFS opened at $17.14 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $18.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32 and a beta of 1.06. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a one year low of $13.07 and a one year high of $22.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.13). Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.60% and a net margin of 10.13%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 91.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PL Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 1,787.0% in the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,533,618 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $47,809,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399,351 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 13,182.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,854,596 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $34,421,000 after purchasing an additional 1,840,633 shares during the period. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth $17,447,000. State Street Corp raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,683,467 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $142,605,000 after purchasing an additional 713,688 shares during the period. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 87.3% in the 3rd quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 892,708 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $16,569,000 after purchasing an additional 416,020 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

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.