Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 33,748 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 50.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,427 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 33,748 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 51.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,787,088 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $111,740,000 after buying an additional 2,649,643 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 4,245.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,996,954 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $56,877,000 after buying an additional 3,904,975 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 9.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,550,462 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $36,599,000 after purchasing an additional 225,839 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 125.3% in the 2nd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,690,155 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $24,254,000 after purchasing an additional 939,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Provident Financial Services by 56.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,612,246 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $23,136,000 after acquiring an additional 582,844 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions 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 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. The trade was a 5.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

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

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $211.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.49%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on PFS. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. 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. StockNews.com downgraded Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Provident Financial Services 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.