Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 20.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 679,669 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 177,670 shares during the quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned about 0.52% of Provident Financial Services worth $12,615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PFS. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 5.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 55,927 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $815,000 after purchasing an additional 2,645 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the second quarter valued at $216,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 6.9% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 39,913 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 2,591 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the second quarter worth about $195,000. Finally, PL Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the second quarter worth about $1,927,000. 71.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of PFS traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $20.96. 390,360 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 866,870. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.07 and a 1-year high of $22.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average of $19.75 and a 200-day moving average of $17.61. The stock has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.15 and a beta of 1.06.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share 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 last year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. Analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.58%. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.