Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Shares Sold by Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 50.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,427 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 33,748 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $620,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Haverford Trust Co bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the third quarter valued at $187,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 477.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 156,240 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $2,900,000 after acquiring an additional 129,183 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 6.5% in the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 20,616 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,257 shares in the last quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the third quarter valued at $5,564,000. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $217,000. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $21.40 on Friday. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.07 and a 52 week high of $22.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $18.99 and its 200 day moving average is $17.06.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.49%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 92.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total value of $99,476.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,787.04. This represents a 5.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 4.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

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.