Inceptionr LLC Purchases New Position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Inceptionr LLC bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 18,779 shares of the savings and loans company's stock, valued at approximately $354,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 316,953 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $5,883,000 after purchasing an additional 90,238 shares during the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP bought a new position in Provident Financial Services during the third quarter valued at about $508,000. Royce & Associates LP acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the third quarter worth about $766,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,947,394 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $54,715,000 after acquiring an additional 53,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,026,000. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on PFS. StockNews.com upgraded Provident Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Hovde Group began coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.00.

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Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of PFS traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $16.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 444,322 shares, compared to its average volume of 794,819. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a one year low of $13.07 and a one year high of $22.24. The stock's 50-day moving average is $18.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 15.80 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.13). Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 5.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Provident Financial Services's payout ratio is presently 91.43%.

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.