George Lista Sells 2,556 Shares of Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Stock

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) 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 approximately $2,447,468.80. The trade was a 2.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of PFS stock opened at $21.74 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.25 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s fifty day moving average is $21.61 and its 200 day moving average is $20.86. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a twelve month low of $15.92 and a twelve month high of $23.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued 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 analysts’ expectations 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 revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.85%.

Provident Financial Services announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, January 26th that permits the company to repurchase $2.81 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the savings and loans company to purchase up to 0.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research note on Monday, March 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $25.00 target price on Provident Financial Services in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Provident Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.92.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 358.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210 shares in the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the third quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 40.9% during the third quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,100 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

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.