Cwm LLC Purchases 13,988 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Cwm LLC lifted its position in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) by 78.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,813 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,988 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised 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 acquiring an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in Provident Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $156,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in Provident Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $178,000. Finally, City Center Advisors LLC bought a new position in Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $186,000. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PFS shares. DA Davidson lowered Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Hovde Group raised their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 2.6%

Provident Financial Services stock opened at $18.99 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.02. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 17th. The savings and loans company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $114.54 million during the quarter. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 8.80% and a net margin of 16.97%. Equities analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.