Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Grows Position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,825,993 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after buying an additional 33,201 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $34,456,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. PL Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 1,787.0% during the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,533,618 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $47,809,000 after buying an additional 2,399,351 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 13,182.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,854,596 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $34,421,000 after buying an additional 1,840,633 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,683,467 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $142,605,000 after buying an additional 713,688 shares during the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 87.3% during the 3rd quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 892,708 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $16,569,000 after buying an additional 416,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 55.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 795,855 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $14,771,000 after buying an additional 283,879 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of PFS stock opened at $17.14 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $18.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.08. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.07 and a twelve month high of $22.24. The company has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.32 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 (NYSE:PFS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.13). Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 5.60%. Equities analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.60%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PFS. StockNews.com upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Hovde Group initiated coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.