382,893 Shares in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Acquired by Norges Bank

Norges Bank purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 382,893 shares of the savings and loans company's stock, valued at approximately $7,225,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.29% of Provident Financial Services as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in 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 worth $5,883,000 after purchasing an additional 90,238 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,947,394 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $54,715,000 after acquiring an additional 53,943 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $513,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,825,993 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $34,456,000 after buying an additional 33,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $5,026,000. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFS traded up $0.13 on Monday, hitting $14.82. The company had a trading volume of 20,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 843,704. The company has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a PE ratio of 14.08 and a beta of 0.84. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.07 and a 52-week high of $22.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business has a 50 day moving average of $17.35 and a 200 day moving average of $18.75.

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

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.48%. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.00.

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.