Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Short Interest Update

Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) was the target of a large 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 presently 4.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One 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, Provident Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:PFS traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $21.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 637,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 884,330. Provident Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $13.07 and a fifty-two week high of $22.23. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $19.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced 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 company had revenue of $349.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.25 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In other 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,603,787.04. This trade represents a 5.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,947,394 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $54,715,000 after purchasing an additional 53,943 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 316,953 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $5,883,000 after acquiring an additional 90,238 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 120.6% in 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 in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the third quarter valued at about $245,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services during the third quarter worth about $211,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

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.