Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 4.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 614,795 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 28,561 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $11,411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 991.2% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,685 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 43.0% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,050 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Provident Financial Services during the first quarter worth about $76,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake 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 worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 7,457 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In other news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total transaction of $99,476.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,603,787.04. The trade was a 5.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 4.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Provident Financial Services stock opened at $21.40 on Monday. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.07 and a 1-year high of $22.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.12.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 9.55%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Provident Financial Services 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.