Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 0.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 392,045 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 1,489 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.52% of Provident Financial Services worth $5,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PFS. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Provident Financial Services by 6.2% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 37,122 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $568,000 after buying an additional 2,171 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $532,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 33.6% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 116,376 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,779,000 after purchasing an additional 29,250 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,261,425 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $34,577,000 after purchasing an additional 68,856 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFS has been the topic of a number of research reports. TheStreet cut Provident Financial Services from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. DA Davidson raised Provident Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $15.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.00.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:PFS traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $14.41. 146,809 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 928,722. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.07 and a 52-week high of $19.62. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.41. The company has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of 9.09 and a beta of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $114.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.50 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 7.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.63 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 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 26th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.00%.

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.