Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,850,000 shares, a decrease of 17.9% from the October 15th total of 3,470,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 696,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In other news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total transaction of $99,476.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,603,787.04. This represents a 5.84 % 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. Company insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 991.2% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 120.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,500 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 43.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,050 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the first quarter valued at $76,000. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFS has been the subject of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com lowered Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of PFS traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $21.40. 637,624 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 884,330. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 1.03. Provident Financial Services has a 52 week low of $13.07 and a 52 week high of $22.23.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.11). Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 5.21%. The business had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 92.31%.

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.