120,000 Shares in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Acquired by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 120,000 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,722,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned about 0.09% of Provident Financial Services as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PFS. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the second quarter valued at $29,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 17,508.3% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 2,101 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 43.0% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,050 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the first quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Provident Financial Services by 1,728.7% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,333 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 6,932 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on PFS. StockNews.com downgraded Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.67.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 5.5 %

Shares of PFS opened at $19.12 on Friday. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.07 and a fifty-two week high of $19.40. The company’s fifty day moving average is $16.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.37. The firm has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a PE ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

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

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.02%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.00%.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In other Provident Financial Services news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total transaction of $99,476.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,656 shares in the company, valued at $1,603,787.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 4.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.