Man Group plc Invests $296,000 in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Man Group plc bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 15,668 shares of the savings and loans company's stock, valued at approximately $296,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $55,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 805.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,968 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 3,530 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $99,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 40.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,387 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,848 shares in the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PFS. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Provident Financial Services presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.25.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFS traded up $0.19 during trading on Thursday, hitting $16.78. 383,423 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 742,605. The company has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $16.51 and a 200 day moving average of $18.20. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.07 and a 52-week high of $22.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

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

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.72%. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.