US Bancorp DE Acquires 18,474 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 3,201.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,051 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after buying an additional 18,474 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $354,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 4,245.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,996,954 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $56,877,000 after acquiring an additional 3,904,975 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 51.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,787,088 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $111,740,000 after purchasing an additional 2,649,643 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 125.3% in the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,690,155 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $24,254,000 after buying an additional 939,951 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 56.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,612,246 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $23,136,000 after buying an additional 582,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,990,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of PFS opened at $21.47 on Wednesday. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.07 and a 1-year high of $22.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $18.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90 and a beta of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 5.21%. The firm had revenue of $349.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.47%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 92.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $99,476.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,787.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.67.

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.