Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Shares Sold by Creative Planning

Creative Planning reduced its position in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 13.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,045 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 9,163 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $1,096,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PFS. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 991.2% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,685 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 43.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,050 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $76,000. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $149,000. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 1.8 %

PFS stock opened at $18.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.96 and a beta of 1.03. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.07 and a 52-week high of $19.97. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.63.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $349.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $211.25 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 4.95% and a net margin of 9.38%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 92.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total value 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.