Millennium Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Millennium Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 71.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 100,144 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 254,561 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.08% of Provident Financial Services worth $1,890,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 805.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,968 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 3,530 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $99,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 40.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,387 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,848 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PFS. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.25.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 1.9%

PFS stock opened at $16.38 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.07 and a twelve month high of $22.24. The company’s 50 day moving average is $16.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.09. The stock has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.60 and a beta of 0.84.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $208.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 82.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. Research analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.86%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 86.49%.

Provident Financial Services 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.