Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Director Thomas Shara Sells 15,900 Shares

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFSGet Free Report) Director Thomas Shara sold 15,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.30, for a total value of $370,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 423,177 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,860,024.10. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Thomas Shara also recently made the following trade(s):

  • On Tuesday, September 1st, Thomas Shara sold 40,266 shares of Provident Financial Services stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.06, for a total transaction of $928,533.96.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 1.9%

PFS stock opened at $22.95 on Wednesday. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 52 week low of $17.69 and a 52 week high of $25.49. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.56 and a beta of 0.78.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFSGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.04. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 11.00% and a net margin of 22.15%.The firm had revenue of $234.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $225.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on PFS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Stephens began coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson set a $26.00 price target on Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.79.

View Our Latest Report on Provident Financial Services

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 23.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 624,648 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $13,218,000 after purchasing an additional 118,432 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 82.0% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 341,162 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $7,219,000 after buying an additional 153,698 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,209,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services during the second quarter worth approximately $36,916,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,868,000. 71.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

See Also

Insider Buying and Selling by Quarter for Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS)

Receive News & Ratings for Provident Financial Services Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Provident Financial Services and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.