Amalgamated Bank Lowers Position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Amalgamated Bank reduced its stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 3.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,313 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 1,424 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $711,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Forum Financial Management LP bought a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $217,000. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3,201.7% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 19,051 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 18,474 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1,779.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,876 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $146,000 after purchasing an additional 7,457 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $435,000. Finally, Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the third quarter worth $1,595,000. 71.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In other Provident Financial Services news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total transaction of $99,476.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,603,787.04. The trade was a 5.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $21.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $18.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.06. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.07 and a fifty-two week high of $22.23. The company has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.11). Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 9.55%. The firm had revenue of $349.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $211.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

About Provident Financial Services

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.