Wolverine Asset Management LLC Has $644,000 Holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Wolverine Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 50.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,684 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 35,515 shares during the quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC's holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 991.2% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,685 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 43.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,050 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the first quarter worth about $76,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1,779.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,876 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $146,000 after buying an additional 7,457 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on PFS. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Provident Financial Services from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.67.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:PFS traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $21.42. The stock had a trading volume of 495,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 885,447. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $18.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.03. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.07 and a 1-year high of $22.23. The company has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.47 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.25 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 9.55%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.48%. Provident Financial Services's payout ratio is 92.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total transaction of $99,476.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,603,787.04. This represents a 5.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 4.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.