Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Raises Stock Position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 84,741 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after buying an additional 8,190 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $1,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PFS. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Provident Financial Services by 39.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 316,953 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $5,883,000 after purchasing an additional 90,238 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 980,654 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $18,505,000 after acquiring an additional 184,799 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 1.9% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 33,201 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $513,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,026,000. 71.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 2.3 %

PFS stock opened at $17.19 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $16.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37 and a beta of 0.84. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.03. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.60% and a net margin of 10.13%. The business had revenue of $208.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $206.86 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 82.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.59%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on PFS shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.25.

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.