Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Holdings Lifted by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC raised its position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 316,953 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after acquiring an additional 90,238 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $5,883,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 991.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 120.6% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,500 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased 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 valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the second quarter valued at about $163,000. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE:PFS opened at $18.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $20.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.99. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.07 and a 52-week high of $22.24. The firm has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.92 and a beta of 1.06.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 9.55%. The business had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. As a group, sell-side 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.15%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Provident Financial Services

In related news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total value of $73,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,254 shares in the company, valued at $715,223.52. The trade was a 9.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 4.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PFS shares. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.50.

Provident Financial Services 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.