EJF Capital LLC Sells 57,784 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

EJF Capital LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) by 26.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 163,551 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 57,784 shares during the period. Provident Financial Services makes up approximately 2.3% of EJF Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. EJF Capital LLC’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $2,867,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 84.5% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,207,898 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $55,080,000 after buying an additional 1,469,432 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Provident Financial Services during the first quarter worth $17,412,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $10,545,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $9,548,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 251.3% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 413,107 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $7,242,000 after purchasing an additional 295,521 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $21.02 on Friday. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 12-month low of $14.34 and a 12-month high of $21.09. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 0.88.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 17th. The savings and loans company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The firm had revenue of $114.54 million during the quarter. On average, research analysts expect 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, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 48.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Provident Financial Services

In related news, CEO George Lista sold 8,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,993,837.60. The trade was a 7.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on PFS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. DA Davidson lowered shares of Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.70.

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.