LMR Partners LLP Makes New $508,000 Investment in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

LMR Partners LLP acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 27,344 shares of the savings and loans company's stock, valued at approximately $508,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 7.4% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 269.0% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 77,382 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $1,127,000 after purchasing an additional 56,410 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 10.9% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 80,745 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $1,175,000 after purchasing an additional 7,905 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 71.1% during the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 31,891 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 13,253 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on PFS. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Provident Financial Services from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

PFS traded down $0.24 on Wednesday, hitting $20.70. 611,194 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 880,550. The company has a 50 day moving average of $19.18 and a 200-day moving average of $17.22. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.07 and a 12-month high of $22.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.70 billion, a PE ratio of 20.13 and a beta of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) 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 the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.11). Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 9.55%. The company had revenue of $349.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services's payout ratio is 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.