Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Shares Sold by Curi RMB Capital LLC

Curi RMB Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 16.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 250,000 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 50,000 shares during the period. Curi RMB Capital LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Provident Financial Services worth $4,640,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its stake in 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 valued at $963,000 after buying an additional 885 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 7.4% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Provident Financial Services by 43.0% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,050 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 20,616 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 991.2% during 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 in the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $21.42 on Friday. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.07 and a 52-week high of $22.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.60 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.48%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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 stock was sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total value of $99,476.91. Following the completion of 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 represents a 5.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.29% 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.