State of Alaska Department of Revenue Has $1.38 Million Stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue reduced its holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 74,462 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 2,167 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue owned 0.06% of Provident Financial Services worth $1,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 73.2% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,674 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 15,498 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 66,113 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $963,000 after buying an additional 885 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth about $406,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth about $544,000. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 43,930 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $640,000 after acquiring an additional 1,637 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total transaction of $99,476.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,603,787.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:PFS opened at $18.85 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.72. The company has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.13 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, 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 $19.97.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.11). The business 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.09%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.31%.

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.