Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Stake Cut by Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 114,389 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 10,606 shares during the quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Provident Financial Services worth $2,159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in PFS. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 120.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,500 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 820 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $99,000. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 40.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,387 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 1,848 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 141.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 7,533 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 4,408 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Provident Financial Services by 35,936.4% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,928 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 7,906 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE PFS opened at $17.40 on Friday. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.07 and a fifty-two week high of $22.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $18.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.98. The firm has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.57 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.13). Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 5.60%. On average, analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 91.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFS has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, Hovde Group started coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Provident Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.00.

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.