BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $1.21 Million Stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 136.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 65,282 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,719 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.05% of Provident Financial Services worth $1,212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 55,927 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $815,000 after buying an additional 2,645 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the second quarter worth $216,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 6.9% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 39,913 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $573,000 after acquiring an additional 2,591 shares during the period. PL Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Provident Financial Services in the second quarter valued at about $1,927,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 9.8% in the second quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 21,844 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 1,945 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PFS. DA Davidson increased their price target 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 increased their target price for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of PFS opened at $20.49 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.07 and a 12 month high of $22.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $19.88 and its 200-day moving average is $17.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.70 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 92.31%.

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.