Jane Street Group LLC Has $1.70 Million Stock Holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 65.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 89,929 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after buying an additional 35,579 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC owned 0.07% of Provident Financial Services worth $1,697,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. PL Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 1,787.0% in the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,533,618 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $47,809,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399,351 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,225,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,994,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,026,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 37.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 878,493 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $16,577,000 after acquiring an additional 240,522 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFS has been the subject of a number of recent 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 for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.25.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFS opened at $17.50 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.66 and a beta of 0.84. 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 50 day simple moving average of $16.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.39. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a one year low of $13.07 and a one year high of $22.24.

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

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 86.49%.

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.