Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 256,540 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,070,734 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after buying an additional 256,540 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.06% of Provident Financial Services worth $170,775,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $4,209,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services during the first quarter valued at $2,868,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 1st quarter valued at $1,225,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 896,079 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $17,698,000 after buying an additional 171,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 18.7% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 934,311 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $19,770,000 after buying an additional 147,139 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In other news, CEO George Lista sold 2,556 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.40, for a total value of $57,254.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 109,262 shares in the company, valued at $2,447,468.80. The trade was a 2.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 0.4%

Provident Financial Services stock opened at $23.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a one year low of $17.61 and a one year high of $24.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of 10.15 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s fifty day moving average is $23.04 and its 200 day moving average is $22.14.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.06. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.98% and a net margin of 21.95%.The company had revenue of $225.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.62 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. Provident Financial Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFS has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens began coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Provident Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.00.

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.