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

Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) CEO George Lista bought 1,000 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.73 per share, with a total value of $16,730.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 9,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $166,563.88. The trade was a 11.17 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 2.9 %

Provident Financial Services stock opened at $17.14 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.07 and a 1-year high of $22.24. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.08. The company has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.32 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.60%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 91.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PFS. Aigen Investment Management LP boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 20,616 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,257 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 477.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 156,240 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $2,900,000 after acquiring an additional 129,183 shares during the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $187,000. Royce & Associates LP acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the third quarter valued at about $766,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 6.7% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 251,745 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $4,672,000 after buying an additional 15,847 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on PFS. DA Davidson raised 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. 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 objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

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.