PL Capital Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

PL Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 1,787.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,533,618 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,399,351 shares during the quarter. Provident Financial Services accounts for 0.6% of PL Capital Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. PL Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 1.94% of Provident Financial Services worth $47,809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Savant Capital LLC grew its position in 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 valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in 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 valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 772 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 5.1% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 16,672 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 820 shares during the period. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 3.3% during 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 buying an additional 944 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company's stock.

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Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFS traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $18.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 918,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 593,943. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $18.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.40 and a beta of 1.07. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.07 and a 12-month high of $22.24.

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

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Provident Financial Services news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total transaction of $73,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at $715,223.52. The trade was a 9.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on PFS shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, Hovde Group started coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $24.00.

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.