Insider Selling: Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) EVP Sells 3,500 Shares of Stock

Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total value of $73,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $715,223.52. This trade represents a 9.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $20.38 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $20.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a one year low of $13.07 and a one year high of $22.24. The company has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.60 and a beta of 1.06.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $349.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.71%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.31%.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PFS. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,685 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 120.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,500 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 43.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,050 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $146,000 after acquiring an additional 7,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $163,000. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PFS shares. StockNews.com upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Hovde Group assumed coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.50.

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.