Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Shares Purchased by Foundry Partners LLC

Foundry Partners LLC boosted its position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 191,018 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,921 shares during the quarter. Foundry Partners LLC’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $3,545,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 4,245.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,996,954 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $56,877,000 after purchasing an additional 3,904,975 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 51.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,787,088 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $111,740,000 after purchasing an additional 2,649,643 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 125.3% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 56.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,612,246 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $23,136,000 after acquiring an additional 582,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth $6,990,000. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:PFS opened at $20.85 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $19.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.24. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05 and a beta of 1.03. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.07 and a 12-month high of $22.23.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $349.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business posted $0.38 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 92.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. 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 note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 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.