11,383 Shares in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Purchased by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 11,383 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1,779.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,876 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $146,000 after acquiring an additional 7,457 shares in the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth $187,000. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the second quarter valued at about $163,000. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock opened at $20.36 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58 and a beta of 1.06. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.07 and a 52 week high of $22.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $20.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $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 the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $349.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In related news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total value of $73,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,254 shares in the company, valued at $715,223.52. This represents a 9.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

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.