Citigroup Inc. Sells 81,438 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Citigroup Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) by 28.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 202,293 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 81,438 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $3,900,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 23.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 44,106 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $758,000 after buying an additional 8,507 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Provident Financial Services by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 74,926 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,286,000 after acquiring an additional 3,277 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 6.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 256,739 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $4,408,000 after acquiring an additional 15,112 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 247.5% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 312,478 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $5,365,000 after purchasing an additional 222,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 45.6% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 73,261 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 22,961 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 0.7%

Provident Financial Services stock opened at $21.57 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 9.67 and a beta of 0.86. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 12 month low of $14.34 and a 12 month high of $23.98. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $225.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $224.08 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 21.06% and a return on equity of 10.69%. The business’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, January 26th that allows the company to repurchase $2.81 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the savings and loans company to repurchase up to 0.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PFS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Provident Financial Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.90.

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.