LMR Partners LLP Makes New Investment in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 27,344 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $508,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 991.2% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 43.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,050 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $76,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 7,457 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $20.94 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.13 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $19.12 and its 200 day moving average is $17.18. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.07 and a 52 week high of $22.23. 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 released its earnings results 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 net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 5.21%. The firm had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 92.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price 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. StockNews.com downgraded Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Provident Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.00.

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.