Ibex Wealth Advisors Takes $211,000 Position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Ibex Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 11,195 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 13,182.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,854,596 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $34,421,000 after purchasing an additional 1,840,633 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 10.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,683,467 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $142,605,000 after buying an additional 713,688 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 87.3% during the third quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 892,708 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $16,569,000 after buying an additional 416,020 shares during the period. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,564,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 55.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 795,855 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $14,771,000 after acquiring an additional 283,879 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $18.35 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $19.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.02. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.07 and a 1-year high of $22.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a PE ratio of 17.64 and a beta of 1.08.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.13). Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 9.55%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total transaction of $73,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $715,223.52. This represents a 9.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.50.

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.