Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Shares Bought by Foundry Partners LLC

Foundry Partners LLC grew its position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 191,748 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after acquiring an additional 730 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $3,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PFS. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 316,953 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $5,883,000 after purchasing an additional 90,238 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,947,394 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $54,715,000 after buying an additional 53,943 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $513,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,825,993 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $34,456,000 after buying an additional 33,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $5,026,000. 71.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 4.2 %

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $15.34 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.07 and a 12-month high of $22.24. The company has a 50-day moving average of $17.84 and a 200 day moving average of $18.92.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.13). Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 5.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

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 was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.26%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on PFS. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Hovde Group started coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

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.