Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. trimmed its position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 93.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 116,243 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 1,769,654 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Provident Financial Services worth $1,694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 66,113 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $963,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 43,930 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637 shares in the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 17,508.3% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 55,927 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $815,000 after purchasing an additional 2,645 shares in the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 2.6 %

NYSE:PFS traded down $0.47 on Friday, reaching $17.30. The stock had a trading volume of 1,143,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,162,442. The company has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $15.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.31. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.07 and a 12-month high of $19.16.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The savings and loans company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.39). Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 9.38% and a return on equity of 4.95%. The firm had revenue of $141.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $148.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. Provident Financial Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on PFS. StockNews.com lowered shares of Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $15.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.25.

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.