Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Takes $439,000 Position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 23,281 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $439,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,605,199 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $275,600,000 after acquiring an additional 51,253 shares in the last quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 1,787.0% in 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. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,456,401 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $46,352,000 after buying an additional 81,617 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,825,993 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $34,456,000 after buying an additional 33,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,692,001 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $31,928,000 after acquiring an additional 109,923 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of PFS stock opened at $17.13 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $16.46 and a 200 day moving average of $18.44. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.07 and a 1 year high of $22.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31 and a beta of 0.84.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.03. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.60% and a net margin of 10.13%. The firm had revenue of $208.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $206.86 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 82.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.60%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 86.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.25.

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.