13,838 Shares in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Bought by Newport Capital Group LLC

Newport Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 13,838 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,419,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 334.5% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 103,938 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 80,018 shares during the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Provident Financial Services by 17,508.3% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 2,101 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $439,000. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 67.0% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 129,366 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $2,332,000 after buying an additional 51,923 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Provident Financial Services

In other news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total value of $99,476.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,787.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFS opened at $18.33 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.07 and a 52 week high of $19.59. The firm has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a PE ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $18.21 and its 200-day moving average is $15.95.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The savings and loans company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.39). The company had revenue of $141.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $148.60 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 4.95% and a net margin of 9.38%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 42.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 60.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com downgraded Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Thursday, August 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.67.

Provident Financial Services 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.