ELCO Management Co. LLC Buys 15,642 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

ELCO Management Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 37.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 57,797 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after buying an additional 15,642 shares during the quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $829,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 59.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 482,603 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $6,925,000 after buying an additional 179,987 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the second quarter worth about $863,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 83.2% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 287,178 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $4,121,000 after buying an additional 130,421 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 30.6% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 19,402 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 4,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 37.8% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 222,849 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $3,198,000 after buying an additional 61,179 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Provident Financial Services news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $99,476.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,787.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

PFS opened at $18.41 on Wednesday. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.07 and a 12-month high of $19.59. The company has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The company’s 50 day moving average is $18.18 and its 200 day moving average is $15.89.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $141.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $148.60 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 9.38% and a return on equity of 4.95%. The company’s revenue was up 42.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Provident Financial Services Company 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.