Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Takes Position in Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 61,287 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,182,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PFS. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 45.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3.9% in the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 18,828 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 705 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 56,442 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $989,000 after buying an additional 894 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 14,845 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Provident Financial Services by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 24,997 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $438,000 after buying an additional 1,123 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

PFS stock opened at $19.84 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $19.71 and a 200 day moving average of $19.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.12 and a beta of 0.85. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 1 year low of $14.34 and a 1 year high of $21.29.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55. The firm had revenue of $221.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.90 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 18.76%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 48.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO George Lista sold 8,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.35, for a total transaction of $151,607.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 108,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,993,837.60. The trade was a 7.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

About Provident Financial Services

Provident Financial Services, Inc is the bank holding company for Provident Bank, a regional commercial bank headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. The company operates a network of full-service branches across New Jersey, the New York metropolitan area and eastern Pennsylvania, offering a range of personal and business banking solutions.

Its core products and services include checking and savings accounts, consumer and residential mortgage loans, commercial real estate financing and small-business lending.