Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Trims Holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 42,293 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 2,227 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $763,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PFS. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 1,728.7% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,333 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 6,932 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at $202,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at $253,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 8.9% during the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 14,434 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 1,184 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 41.5% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,016 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 4,403 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on PFS. StockNews.com raised Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Provident Financial Services from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. DA Davidson raised Provident Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $15.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, TheStreet lowered Provident Financial Services from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.00.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 1.1 %

PFS opened at $14.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.33 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $14.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.21 and a 12 month high of $19.62.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $114.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.50 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 7.31% and a net margin of 16.78%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.63 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.43%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.00%.

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.