Gateway Advisory LLC Buys Shares of 60,120 Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Gateway Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 60,120 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $863,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 269.0% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 77,382 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,127,000 after buying an additional 56,410 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth $544,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 334.5% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 103,938 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 80,018 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,613,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Provident Financial Services by 64.1% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 643,356 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $9,232,000 after buying an additional 251,311 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:PFS opened at $18.83 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $18.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.07 and a 12-month high of $19.59. The firm has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a PE ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 1.04.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The savings and loans company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations 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 revenue was up 42.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.72 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, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 60.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report 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 report on Monday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.67.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In other Provident Financial Services news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,603,787.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

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.