Cibc World Markets Corp Takes $222,000 Position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 11,783 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PFS. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 39.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 316,953 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $5,883,000 after acquiring an additional 90,238 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,947,394 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $54,715,000 after purchasing an additional 53,943 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth about $513,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,825,993 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $34,456,000 after purchasing an additional 33,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,026,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.00.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of PFS opened at $17.34 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $18.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.99. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.07 and a 52 week high of $22.24.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.13). Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.60% and a net margin of 10.13%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.54%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.43%.

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.