Park Avenue Securities LLC Invests $333,000 in Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 18,980 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $333,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PFS. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 447.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 193.8% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 2,938 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 1,938 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,893 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $156,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $178,000. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Provident Financial Services

In other news, Director John Pugliese sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.91, for a total value of $497,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 87,907 shares in the company, valued at $1,750,228.37. The trade was a 22.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.90, for a total value of $59,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $788,696.70. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PFS shares. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Hovde Group lifted their price target on Provident Financial Services from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. They set a “strong-buy” rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.70.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:PFS opened at $19.28 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 0.94. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 12-month low of $14.34 and a 12-month high of $22.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $214.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $213.39 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 8.80% and a net margin of 16.97%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.11) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 54.24%.

Provident Financial Services 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.