Chartwell Investment Partners LLC Invests $5.56 Million in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Chartwell Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 299,761 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,564,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Forum Financial Management LP bought a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $217,000. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 3,201.7% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 19,051 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 18,474 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 1,779.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,876 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $146,000 after buying an additional 7,457 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $435,000. Finally, Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,595,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In other Provident Financial Services news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PFS. StockNews.com lowered shares of Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of 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 report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report 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 a consensus price target of $20.67.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

PFS opened at $21.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $18.78 and a 200 day moving average of $16.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.07 and a fifty-two week high of $22.23.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 5.21%. The business had revenue of $349.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $211.25 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 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.