Systematic Financial Management LP Buys 87,612 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,976,235 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after purchasing an additional 87,612 shares during the quarter. Provident Financial Services makes up about 0.9% of Systematic Financial Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Systematic Financial Management LP owned about 1.51% of Provident Financial Services worth $37,292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 44.2% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 38,035 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 11,664 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 24,871 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $469,000 after acquiring an additional 1,829 shares during the period. Man Group plc bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $296,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 939,304 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $17,725,000 after acquiring an additional 9,445 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Provident Financial Services by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 71,649 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $1,352,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company's stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of PFS stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Thursday, reaching $16.74. The company had a trading volume of 132,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 753,891. The company has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a PE ratio of 15.96 and a beta of 0.84. 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 simple moving average is $16.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.36. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a one year low of $13.07 and a one year high of $22.24.

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

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Provident Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PFS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. 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 a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.