ProShare Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 30.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,402 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,546 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 991.2% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,685 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services in the second quarter valued at $29,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 2,101 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 43.0% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,050 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the first quarter worth about $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 0.3 %

PFS opened at $17.69 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $18.19 and its 200-day moving average is $16.03. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.07 and a 52-week high of $19.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.05 and a beta of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The savings and loans company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.39). The firm had revenue of $141.51 million for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 42.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. Analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.43%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 accessible through this link. 4.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.