Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Purchases Shares of 124,995 Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 124,995 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,320,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC owned about 0.10% of Provident Financial Services at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Provident Financial Services by 991.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the second quarter worth $29,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 43.0% during the second 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 during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the first quarter worth $76,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Provident Financial Services by 1,779.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 7,457 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of PFS opened at $21.40 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 1.03. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.07 and a 12 month high of $22.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $19.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business posted $0.38 EPS. Analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.49%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PFS shares. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.00.

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.