Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,850,000 shares, a drop of 17.9% from the October 15th total of 3,470,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 696,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In related news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total value of $99,476.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,603,787.04. This trade represents a 5.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 51.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,787,088 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $111,740,000 after purchasing an additional 2,649,643 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 10.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,683,467 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $142,605,000 after buying an additional 713,688 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 4,245.5% during the second 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,947,394 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $54,715,000 after buying an additional 53,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 9.7% in 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 buying an additional 225,839 shares in the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of PFS stock traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $21.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 637,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 622,118. The stock has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 1.03. Provident Financial Services has a 12-month low of $13.07 and a 12-month high of $22.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $19.06 and a 200 day moving average of $17.12. 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $211.25 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 5.21%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services will post 1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.31%.

Provident Financial Services Company 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.