American Century Companies Inc. Increases Stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,456,401 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after acquiring an additional 81,617 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $46,352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PL Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 1,787.0% in the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,533,618 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $47,809,000 after acquiring an additional 2,399,351 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 13,182.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,854,596 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $34,421,000 after purchasing an additional 1,840,633 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 10.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,683,467 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $142,605,000 after purchasing an additional 713,688 shares during the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 87.3% in 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 period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,994,000. 71.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Hovde Group initiated coverage on Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE PFS opened at $17.40 on Friday. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a one year low of $13.07 and a one year high of $22.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.98.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) 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 fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 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.