Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. Cuts Position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 95.5% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,806 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 38,684 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd.’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $26,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PFS. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 4,245.5% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,996,954 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $56,877,000 after purchasing an additional 3,904,975 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 51.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,787,088 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $111,740,000 after acquiring an additional 2,649,643 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 56.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,612,246 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $23,136,000 after acquiring an additional 582,844 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,419,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,990,000. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE PFS opened at $17.89 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.07 and a fifty-two week high of $19.59. The business has a fifty day moving average of $18.22 and a 200-day moving average of $15.99. The stock has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.18 and a beta of 1.04.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The savings and loans company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.39). The firm had revenue of $141.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue for the quarter was up 42.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. 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 5.37%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Provident Financial Services news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total transaction of $99,476.91. Following the transaction, 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.