Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Stock Holdings Lessened by Janus Henderson Group PLC

Janus Henderson Group PLC cut its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 28.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,763 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 20,400 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 991.2% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in 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 worth $58,000 after buying an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 1,779.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,876 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $146,000 after acquiring an additional 7,457 shares in the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $187,000. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the second quarter worth approximately $163,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PFS. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, Hovde Group assumed coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.50.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of PFS opened at $20.36 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a one year low of $13.07 and a one year high of $22.24. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $20.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.87.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.11). Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 9.55%. The business had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.72%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.31%.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In other Provident Financial Services news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total value of $73,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $715,223.52. This represents a 9.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 4.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.