MRA Advisory Group Purchases Shares of 29,258 Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

MRA Advisory Group bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 29,258 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $619,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,225,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 18.7% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 934,311 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $19,770,000 after acquiring an additional 147,139 shares in the last quarter. Flywheel Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 17.3% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 15,996 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 2,354 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 137,468 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $2,709,000 after acquiring an additional 3,110 shares in the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Provident Financial Services

In related news, CEO George Lista sold 2,556 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.40, for a total transaction of $57,254.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 109,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,447,468.80. The trade was a 2.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:PFS opened at $23.63 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $22.52 and its 200 day moving average is $21.68. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 12-month low of $17.40 and a 12-month high of $23.98. The stock has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.06. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.98% and a net margin of 21.95%.The business had revenue of $225.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $225.62 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFS has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Monday, March 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.42.

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.