Empowered Funds LLC Raises Position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 6.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 251,745 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,847 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $4,672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 269.0% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 77,382 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,127,000 after buying an additional 56,410 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,990,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 37.8% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 222,849 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $3,198,000 after purchasing an additional 61,179 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services during the second quarter worth approximately $2,613,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 64.1% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 643,356 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $9,232,000 after purchasing an additional 251,311 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on PFS shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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 research report on Thursday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.00.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In other Provident Financial Services news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total value of $99,476.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,656 shares in the company, valued at $1,603,787.04. The trade was a 5.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock opened at $21.40 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $19.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.07 and a twelve month high of $22.23. The stock has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $211.25 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 9.55%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.49%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.31%.

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.