Intech Investment Management LLC Grows Stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 138.3% in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 99,238 shares and bringing its total to 170,995 shares valued at about $3.38 million.
• Analysts are broadly positive on PFS, with an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $23.92. Recent actions included higher targets from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and an overweight rating from Piper Sandler.
• Provident Financial Services reported solid results, with quarterly EPS of $0.61 beating estimates and revenue up 7.9% year over year. The company also paid a $0.24 quarterly dividend, implying a 4.4% annual yield.

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 138.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 170,995 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after purchasing an additional 99,238 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC owned about 0.13% of Provident Financial Services worth $3,377,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 23.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 44,106 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $758,000 after buying an additional 8,507 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 74,926 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $1,286,000 after acquiring an additional 3,277 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 256,739 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $4,408,000 after purchasing an additional 15,112 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 247.5% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 312,478 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $5,365,000 after purchasing an additional 222,549 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 227.6% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,926 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 4,812 shares in the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PFS shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $23.92.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of PFS opened at $21.83 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $21.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a twelve month low of $15.92 and a twelve month high of $23.98. The company has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.29 and a beta of 0.78.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $225.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.62 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.98% and a net margin of 21.95%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Provident Financial Services news, CEO George Lista sold 2,556 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.40, for a total value of $57,254.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 109,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,447,468.80. This trade represents a 2.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.02% of the company's stock.

Provident Financial Services Profile

Provident Financial Services, Inc is the bank holding company for Provident Bank, a regional commercial bank headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. The company operates a network of full-service branches across New Jersey, the New York metropolitan area and eastern Pennsylvania, offering a range of personal and business banking solutions.

Its core products and services include checking and savings accounts, consumer and residential mortgage loans, commercial real estate financing and small-business lending.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.