Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Boosts Stock Holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) by 2,957.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 787,172 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after purchasing an additional 761,427 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $15,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 10.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,359,098 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $122,603,000 after purchasing an additional 576,673 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 40.4% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,308,774 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $44,513,000 after acquiring an additional 664,021 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,978,498 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $34,683,000 after acquiring an additional 11,647 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,096,733 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $21,145,000 after acquiring an additional 279,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 26.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 724,976 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $13,978,000 after acquiring an additional 150,310 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE:PFS opened at $20.89 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $21.65 and its 200 day moving average is $20.23. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $14.34 and a fifty-two week high of $23.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a PE ratio of 9.37 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $225.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $224.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. Provident Financial Services’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 43.05%.

Provident Financial Services announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, January 26th that permits the company to repurchase $2.81 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the savings and loans company to reacquire up to 0.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Monday, March 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Provident Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.08.

About Provident Financial Services

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.