Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Sells 15,099 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Key Points

• Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 2.1%, selling 15,099 shares during the 1st quarter, now owning 695,294 shares valued at approximately $11.9 million.
• Provident Financial Services recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, representing a 4.9% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 54.24%.
• The stock has shown price stability with a market capitalization of $2.58 billion and a PE ratio of 11.17, with a 52-week range between $14.34 and $22.24.

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 695,294 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 15,099 shares during the quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned 0.53% of Provident Financial Services worth $11,938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PFS. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 83,132 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $1,569,000 after purchasing an additional 11,122 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 37,065 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $699,000 after buying an additional 4,204 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 28,427 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $536,000 after buying an additional 3,506 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 76,839 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $1,450,000 after acquiring an additional 4,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 72.8% during the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 40,353 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $761,000 after acquiring an additional 17,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company's stock.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

PFS opened at $19.7680 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a PE ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 0.89. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $18.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.42. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 52-week low of $14.34 and a 52-week high of $22.24.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $214.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $213.39 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 8.80% and a net margin of 16.97%.During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.11) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Provident Financial Services's payout ratio is presently 54.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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. Hovde Group upped their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.70.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Christopher P. Martin sold 55,668 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.07, for a total value of $950,252.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 601,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,259,923.50. This represents a 8.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Provident Financial Services Company 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.

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