Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) Shares Acquired by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) by 447.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,505 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $26,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,605,199 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $275,600,000 after purchasing an additional 51,253 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,456,401 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $46,352,000 after acquiring an additional 81,617 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,976,235 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $37,292,000 after purchasing an additional 87,612 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,825,993 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $34,456,000 after purchasing an additional 33,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,692,001 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $31,928,000 after buying an additional 109,923 shares in the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PFS. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Provident Financial Services in a report on Thursday, June 26th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $21.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Christopher P. Martin sold 55,668 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.07, for a total transaction of $950,252.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 601,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,259,923.50. This trade represents a 8.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $18.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a PE ratio of 16.71 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a fifty day moving average of $17.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.49. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 52-week low of $14.34 and a 52-week high of $22.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $208.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $206.86 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 6.38% and a net margin of 11.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 82.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. As a group, equities 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.18%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.