Arizona State Retirement System Increases Stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 74.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,496 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,756 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PFS. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 938,254 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $16,917,000 after purchasing an additional 48,425 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $9,419,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 71,543 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,290,000 after purchasing an additional 4,789 shares during the last quarter. WBI Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. WBI Investments LLC now owns 22,696 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 3,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 334.5% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 103,938 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 80,018 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In other Provident Financial Services news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total transaction of $99,476.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,603,787.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 4.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:PFS opened at $18.53 on Tuesday. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.07 and a fifty-two week high of $19.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.73.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The savings and loans company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.39). Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 9.38% and a return on equity of 4.95%. The company had revenue of $141.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $148.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.18%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock 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 report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.67.

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.