Deutsche Bank AG Raises Position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 27.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 101,830 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,993 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.08% of Provident Financial Services worth $1,922,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PFS. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,457 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 2,074 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Provident Financial Services by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 282,898 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $5,338,000 after acquiring an additional 17,782 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 393,796 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $7,431,000 after purchasing an additional 12,671 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $439,000. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. raised its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 1,105,103 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $20,853,000 after buying an additional 212,395 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.25.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 1.0%

PFS stock opened at $16.52 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.73 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.33. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.07 and a 52 week high of $22.24.

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

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 86.49%.

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.