Cerity Partners LLC Buys Shares of 31,475 Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 31,475 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $592,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PFS. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 37,065 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 4,204 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 49,125 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $927,000 after purchasing an additional 16,150 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in Provident Financial Services by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 83,132 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,569,000 after buying an additional 11,122 shares during the period. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 191,748 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $3,618,000 after buying an additional 730 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

PFS opened at $15.48 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $16.95 and a 200 day moving average of $18.66. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.07 and a fifty-two week high of $22.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.74 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 91.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target 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. One 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.com, Provident Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.00.

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.