Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Raises Position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. raised its position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 23.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,105,103 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after purchasing an additional 212,395 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. owned 0.85% of Provident Financial Services worth $20,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,605,199 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $275,600,000 after acquiring an additional 51,253 shares in the last quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 1,787.0% in the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,533,618 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $47,809,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399,351 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,456,401 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $46,352,000 after buying an additional 81,617 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,825,993 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $34,456,000 after acquiring an additional 33,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,692,001 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $31,928,000 after acquiring an additional 109,923 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. One 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, Provident Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.25.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of PFS stock traded up $0.02 on Wednesday, hitting $16.82. The stock had a trading volume of 496,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 840,355. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business has a 50 day moving average of $16.52 and a 200 day moving average of $18.47. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.07 and a 12-month high of $22.24. The stock has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.02 and a beta of 0.84.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.03. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 5.60%. The firm had revenue of $208.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $206.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 82.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.71%. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 86.49%.

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.