Wolverine Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Wolverine Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 105.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,280 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,596 shares during the quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $1,345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 120.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,500 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 40.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,387 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 1,848 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 1,779.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,876 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $146,000 after acquiring an additional 7,457 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 35,936.4% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,928 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 7,906 shares during the period. Finally, Haverford Trust Co purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $187,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Provident Financial Services news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total value of $73,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $715,223.52. This trade represents a 9.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 4.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

PFS stock opened at $18.11 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.24 and a beta of 1.07. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.07 and a 12-month high of $22.24. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.12.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PFS shares. DA Davidson upped their target price on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Hovde Group started coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.00.

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.