11,195 Shares in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Bought by Ibex Wealth Advisors

Ibex Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 11,195 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 120.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,500 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 40.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,387 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 1,848 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1,779.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,876 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $146,000 after purchasing an additional 7,457 shares in the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $187,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $211,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In other Provident Financial Services news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total value of $73,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,254 shares in the company, valued at $715,223.52. This trade represents a 9.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 4.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Hovde Group started coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.50.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 4.4 %

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock opened at $18.35 on Thursday. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.07 and a fifty-two week high of $22.24. The business’s fifty day moving average is $19.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.02. 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 firm has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a PE ratio of 17.64 and a beta of 1.08.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.13). Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 9.55%. Analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.23%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 92.31%.

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.