Cwm LLC Has $320,000 Stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Cwm LLC reduced its holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 74.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,268 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 50,192 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $336,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 23.6% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,643 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 3,557 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 73.2% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,674 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $534,000 after buying an additional 15,498 shares during the period. Fifth Lane Capital LP bought a new position in Provident Financial Services during the first quarter worth about $278,000. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 66,113 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $963,000 after buying an additional 885 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.67.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE PFS opened at $18.61 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.07 and a 52-week high of $19.97. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.40. The stock has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63 and a beta of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The savings and loans company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.39). The company had revenue of $141.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $148.60 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 4.95% and a net margin of 9.38%. The firm’s revenue was up 42.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.16%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.00%.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In other Provident Financial Services news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total value of $99,476.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,787.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 4.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.