BNP Paribas Financial Markets Buys 37,719 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 136.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 65,282 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after buying an additional 37,719 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.05% of Provident Financial Services worth $1,212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 3.3% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 29,402 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 944 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 43.0% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,050 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 20,616 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 1,257 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 991.2% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 21,844 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 1,945 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 0.3 %

Shares of PFS stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $20.42. 568,806 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 859,700. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $19.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.77. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.07 and a 1-year high of $22.24. The company has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 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 return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 9.55%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.70%. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is 92.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Provident Financial Services from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $23.00.

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.