Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Acquires 161,011 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) by 81.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 359,385 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after buying an additional 161,011 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.28% of Provident Financial Services worth $6,300,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of PFS. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 84.5% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,207,898 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $55,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,469,432 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $10,545,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,548,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 251.3% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 413,107 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $7,242,000 after purchasing an additional 295,521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,377,000. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In other news, CEO George Lista sold 8,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.35, for a total value of $151,607.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 108,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,993,837.60. The trade was a 7.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PFS. DA Davidson downgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research lowered Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.70.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE PFS opened at $21.20 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.82 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a twelve month low of $14.34 and a twelve month high of $21.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.79.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 17th. The savings and loans company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $114.54 million for the quarter. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 18.76%. Sell-side analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.98%.

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.