Squarepoint Ops LLC Sells 125,055 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Squarepoint Ops LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 88.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,432 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 125,055 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $310,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. PL Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 1,787.0% in the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,533,618 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $47,809,000 after acquiring an additional 2,399,351 shares during the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $17,447,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,225,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,994,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 37.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 878,493 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $16,577,000 after acquiring an additional 240,522 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company's stock.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock traded up $0.22 on Tuesday, reaching $17.09. The company had a trading volume of 394,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 727,489. The firm has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.27 and a beta of 0.86. 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 firm's 50-day moving average price is $16.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.93. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.07 and a 1 year high of $22.24.

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

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 86.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen raised 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $24.25.

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.