Teacher Retirement System of Texas Has $929,000 Stock Holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) by 155.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,184 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,356 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $929,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PFS. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,069,463 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $53,815,000 after purchasing an additional 41,758 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,978,498 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $34,683,000 after buying an additional 11,647 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,402,478 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $24,585,000 after acquiring an additional 22,986 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in Provident Financial Services by 17.1% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 637,792 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $12,265,000 after acquiring an additional 93,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $10,545,000. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of PFS opened at $22.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a one year low of $14.34 and a one year high of $22.97. The company has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.19 and a beta of 0.86.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The savings and loans company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.08. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 21.06% and a return on equity of 10.69%. The firm had revenue of $225.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $224.08 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.37 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 43.05%.

Provident Financial Services declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, January 26th that permits the company to buyback $2.81 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the savings and loans company to purchase up to 0.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson cut shares of Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $25.00 price objective on Provident Financial Services in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Provident Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Provident Financial Services news, CEO George Lista sold 8,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.35, for a total transaction of $151,607.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 108,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,993,837.60. This represents a 7.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

Provident Financial Services, Inc is the bank holding company for Provident Bank, a regional commercial bank headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. The company operates a network of full-service branches across New Jersey, the New York metropolitan area and eastern Pennsylvania, offering a range of personal and business banking solutions.

Its core products and services include checking and savings accounts, consumer and residential mortgage loans, commercial real estate financing and small-business lending.