Intech Investment Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 12,977 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $186,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 991.2% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,685 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 17,508.3% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the first quarter worth approximately $76,000. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of PFS opened at $18.33 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s 50-day moving average is $18.21 and its 200-day moving average is $15.95. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.07 and a fifty-two week high of $19.59.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The savings and loans company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.39). Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 4.95% and a net margin of 9.38%. The company had revenue of $141.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $148.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 42.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.24%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 60.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Provident Financial Services news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total value of $99,476.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,656 shares in the company, valued at $1,603,787.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.67.

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.