Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Shares Bought by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 477.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 156,240 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after purchasing an additional 129,183 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.12% of Provident Financial Services worth $2,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 4,245.5% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,996,954 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $56,877,000 after purchasing an additional 3,904,975 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 51.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,787,088 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $111,740,000 after purchasing an additional 2,649,643 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 125.3% in the 2nd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,690,155 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $24,254,000 after buying an additional 939,951 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 56.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,612,246 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $23,136,000 after buying an additional 582,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the second quarter valued at about $6,990,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company's stock.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 2.6 %

PFS traded up $0.55 on Friday, hitting $21.40. The company had a trading volume of 569,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 648,669. 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 business's fifty day simple moving average is $19.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.32. The company has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last released its 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). The company had revenue of $349.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.25 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 5.21%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.49%. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on PFS shares. StockNews.com cut Provident Financial Services from a "hold" rating to a "sell" 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 objective for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Thursday, August 15th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.00.

Provident Financial Services 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.