Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS Position Trimmed by Sound Income Strategies LLC

Sound Income Strategies LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 594,850 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 42,942 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC owned about 0.46% of Provident Financial Services worth $11,986,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 358.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 45.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,100 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Monday, March 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.08.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 0.9%

PFS stock opened at $21.50 on Tuesday. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 12-month low of $14.34 and a 12-month high of $23.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.64 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50 day moving average of $21.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.30.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.08. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 21.06% and a return on equity of 10.69%. The company had revenue of $225.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $224.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.05%.

Provident Financial Services declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, January 26th that allows the company to buyback $2.81 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the savings and loans company to reacquire up to 0.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

Provident Financial Services, Inc is the bank holding company for Provident Bank, a regional commercial bank headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. The company operates a network of full-service branches across New Jersey, the New York metropolitan area and eastern Pennsylvania, offering a range of personal and business banking solutions.

Its core products and services include checking and savings accounts, consumer and residential mortgage loans, commercial real estate financing and small-business lending.