Insider Buying: Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) CEO Acquires 1,000 Shares of Stock

Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) CEO George Lista acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.73 per share, with a total value of $16,730.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $166,563.88. This represents a 11.17 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of PFS stock traded up $0.48 on Friday, hitting $17.14. 565,421 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 795,337. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.09. 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 quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.13). Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 5.60%. Equities analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on PFS shares. Hovde Group started coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aigen Investment Management LP grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 6.5% in the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 20,616 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,257 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 477.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 156,240 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $2,900,000 after purchasing an additional 129,183 shares during the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co bought a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $187,000. Royce & Associates LP purchased a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $766,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 251,745 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $4,672,000 after purchasing an additional 15,847 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.