O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Invests $1.43 Million in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 75,859 shares of the savings and loans company's stock, valued at approximately $1,431,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Provident Financial Services as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 10,931 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 14,240 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 13,422 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 772 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 120.6% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,500 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 39,764 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $750,000 after acquiring an additional 828 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PFS. Hovde Group started coverage on Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Provident Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.00.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

PFS traded down $1.04 during trading on Thursday, hitting $14.86. 136,658 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 845,882. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.07 and a twelve month high of $22.24. The company has a market cap of $1.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.18 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $17.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.80.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 EPS 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.46%. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.