Kiker Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Kiker Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 90,208 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,581,000. Provident Financial Services makes up about 0.9% of Kiker Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 84.5% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,207,898 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $55,080,000 after purchasing an additional 1,469,432 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the first quarter valued at approximately $17,412,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $9,548,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 247.5% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 312,478 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $5,365,000 after purchasing an additional 222,549 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 5.2% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,584,298 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $44,372,000 after purchasing an additional 127,897 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of PFS stock opened at $18.92 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $19.39 and a 200 day moving average of $17.89. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 52 week low of $14.34 and a 52 week high of $22.24.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 17th. The savings and loans company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $114.54 million during the quarter. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 8.80% and a net margin of 16.97%. As a group, research analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. They set a “strong-buy” rating and a $21.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Hovde Group upped their target price on Provident Financial Services from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Provident Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Provident Financial Services

In other Provident Financial Services news, Director John Pugliese sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.91, for a total transaction of $497,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 87,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,750,228.37. This trade represents a 22.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.90, for a total value of $59,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $788,696.70. This represents a 7.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

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.