Short Interest in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Decreases By 19.5%

Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,500,000 shares, a drop of 19.5% from the September 15th total of 4,350,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 909,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE PFS traded up $0.35 on Tuesday, reaching $19.43. The stock had a trading volume of 678,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 916,604. The company has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Provident Financial Services has a 1 year low of $13.07 and a 1 year high of $19.97. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $18.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.23.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.39). The business had revenue of $141.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $148.60 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 9.38% and a return on equity of 4.95%. Provident Financial Services’s revenue was up 42.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.94%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,603,787.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 66,113 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $963,000 after acquiring an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 3.9% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 43,930 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $640,000 after acquiring an additional 1,637 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 991.2% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFS has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.67.

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.