Chartwell Investment Partners LLC Buys New Shares in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Chartwell Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 299,761 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,564,000. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC owned 0.23% of Provident Financial Services at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 4,245.5% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,996,954 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $56,877,000 after buying an additional 3,904,975 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 51.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,787,088 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $111,740,000 after buying an additional 2,649,643 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 125.3% in the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,690,155 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $24,254,000 after buying an additional 939,951 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 56.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,612,246 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $23,136,000 after buying an additional 582,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the second quarter valued at $6,990,000. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on PFS. StockNews.com cut Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total value of $99,476.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,603,787.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 4.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE:PFS opened at $21.86 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $18.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.91. The stock has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15 and a beta of 1.03. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.07 and a 1-year high of $22.23.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.25 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 5.21%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.31%.

Provident Financial Services 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.