Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Holdings Raised by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 193.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,123 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after acquiring an additional 25,146 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth $508,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services during the second quarter worth about $6,990,000. Royce & Associates LP acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $766,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 37.8% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 222,849 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $3,198,000 after buying an additional 61,179 shares during the period. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,613,000. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 1.0 %

PFS traded down $0.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $21.12. 409,660 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 871,319. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $19.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.50. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.07 and a 1 year high of $22.24. 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 firm has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31 and a beta of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 5.21%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 92.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.