Systematic Financial Management LP Acquires 939,951 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 125.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,690,155 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after acquiring an additional 939,951 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $24,254,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,685 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 17,508.3% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew 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 worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the first quarter valued at $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFS opened at $18.33 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.07 and a fifty-two week high of $19.59.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The savings and loans company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.39). The firm had revenue of $141.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $148.60 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 9.38% and a return on equity of 4.95%. Provident Financial Services’s quarterly revenue was up 42.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,603,787.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Provident Financial Services

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.