Susquehanna International Group LLP Sells 70,536 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Susquehanna International Group LLP reduced its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) by 78.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,954 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 70,536 shares during the period. Susquehanna International Group LLP’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 45,333 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 29,888 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 3.4% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 19,782 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,752 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 25,075 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 769 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 0.6%

PFS opened at $23.37 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $17.69 and a fifty-two week high of $25.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50-day moving average is $23.98 and its 200 day moving average is $22.69.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $234.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.57 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 11.00% and a net margin of 22.15%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.36, for a total transaction of $487,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 56,424 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,374,488.64. This represents a 26.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 target price (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $29.00 price target (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.79.

About Provident Financial Services

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.