Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS Shares Purchased by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its Provident Financial Services stake by 6.9% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 998,562 shares valued at approximately $23.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.97% of PFS stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.79, compared with the stock’s recent price of $24.48.
• Provident Financial Services exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $0.60 EPS and $232.96 million in revenue. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, representing a 3.9% annualized yield.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 998,562 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after buying an additional 64,251 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.77% of Provident Financial Services worth $23,606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,070,734 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $170,775,000 after acquiring an additional 256,540 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,046,392 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $139,166,000 after buying an additional 41,961 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,710,987 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $132,542,000 after acquiring an additional 351,889 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,578,302 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $31,171,000 after acquiring an additional 216,567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 38.1% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,239,628 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $24,483,000 after acquiring an additional 342,301 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on PFS shares. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Stephens began coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $26.50 to $28.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, DA Davidson set a $26.00 target price on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $26.79.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 0.1%

PFS opened at $24.48 on Monday. The business's 50 day moving average is $23.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.47. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 52 week low of $17.69 and a 52 week high of $25.49. The firm has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.20 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 11.00%. The company had revenue of $232.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.57 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.00%.

Provident Financial Services Company 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.

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