Foundry Partners LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Foundry Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 191,748 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after purchasing an additional 730 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC owned about 0.15% of Provident Financial Services worth $3,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Provident Financial Services by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,605,199 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $275,600,000 after acquiring an additional 51,253 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in 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 valued at $142,605,000 after acquiring an additional 713,688 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,947,394 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $54,715,000 after purchasing an additional 53,943 shares during the last quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1,787.0% during the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,533,618 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $47,809,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399,351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,456,401 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $46,352,000 after purchasing an additional 81,617 shares in the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price 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. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFS opened at $15.34 on Friday. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.07 and a twelve month high of $22.24. 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 company has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50 day moving average is $17.84 and its 200 day moving average is $18.92.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.13). Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.60% and a net margin of 10.13%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.