Hennessy Advisors Inc. Has $3.16 Million Stock Position in Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) by 5.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 180,000 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $3,155,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PFS. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Provident Financial Services by 84.5% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,207,898 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $55,080,000 after purchasing an additional 1,469,432 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the first quarter valued at $17,412,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the second quarter valued at $9,548,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in Provident Financial Services by 247.5% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 312,478 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $5,365,000 after purchasing an additional 222,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Provident Financial Services by 5.2% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,584,298 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $44,372,000 after purchasing an additional 127,897 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.90, for a total value of $59,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $788,696.70. This represents a 7.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John Pugliese sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.91, for a total value of $497,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 87,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,750,228.37. This represents a 22.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research cut Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $21.00 price target for the company. Hovde Group boosted their price target on Provident Financial Services from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on Provident Financial Services from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.70.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of PFS opened at $19.72 on Friday. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 12-month low of $14.34 and a 12-month high of $22.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $19.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.80.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 8.80% and a net margin of 16.97%.The firm had revenue of $214.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $213.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.11) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 54.24%.

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.