Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) CEO Anthony J. Labozzetta Acquires 868 Shares of Stock

Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) CEO Anthony J. Labozzetta acquired 868 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.95 per share, for a total transaction of $13,844.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,573 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,939.35. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of PFS traded down $0.19 on Thursday, reaching $15.42. The stock had a trading volume of 43,322 shares, compared to its average volume of 905,967. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.77 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.81. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.21 and a 12-month high of $19.62.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $114.48 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $114.50 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 7.31% and a net margin of 16.78%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.63 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 60.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on PFS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. TheStreet lowered Provident Financial Services from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $15.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 17,508.3% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 2,101 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth $76,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1,728.7% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,333 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 6,932 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth $149,000. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth $202,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

About Provident Financial Services

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.