Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Purchases 416,020 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. grew its position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 87.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 892,708 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after buying an additional 416,020 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. owned 0.68% of Provident Financial Services worth $16,569,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 991.2% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 43.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,050 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 1,218 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1,779.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,876 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $146,000 after buying an additional 7,457 shares during the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $163,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC bought a new position in Provident Financial Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $178,000. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 1.0 %

PFS opened at $21.12 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $19.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.52. The firm has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31 and a beta of 1.03. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.07 and a twelve month high of $22.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.11). Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 9.55%. The business had revenue of $349.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFS has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Provident Financial Services Company 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.