29,900 Shares in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Purchased by Versor Investments LP

Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 29,900 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $564,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PL Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1,787.0% in the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,533,618 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $47,809,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399,351 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 13,182.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,854,596 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $34,421,000 after purchasing an additional 1,840,633 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted 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 valued at $142,605,000 after buying an additional 713,688 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 87.3% during the 3rd quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 892,708 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $16,569,000 after buying an additional 416,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chartwell Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $5,564,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of PFS stock opened at $18.27 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.40 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a one year low of $13.07 and a one year high of $22.24. The company’s 50-day moving average is $18.77 and its 200 day moving average is $19.14.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.13). Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 5.60%. Sell-side analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 91.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on PFS shares. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.00.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In related news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total transaction of $73,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $715,223.52. This trade represents a 9.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.44% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Profile

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.