Amalgamated Bank Trims Stock Position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Amalgamated Bank lessened its holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,313 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 1,424 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $711,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 4,245.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,996,954 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $56,877,000 after purchasing an additional 3,904,975 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 51.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,787,088 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $111,740,000 after acquiring an additional 2,649,643 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 125.3% during the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,690,155 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $24,254,000 after acquiring an additional 939,951 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 56.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,612,246 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $23,136,000 after buying an additional 582,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services in the second quarter valued at $6,990,000. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on PFS shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective 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 lifted their price objective 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 boosted their price target for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,787.04. This trade represents a 5.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 4.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE:PFS opened at $21.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $18.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.06. The stock has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 1.03. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.07 and a 1-year high of $22.23.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. On average, research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.31%.

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.