Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Cuts Stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 54.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 102,469 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 120,380 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.08% of Provident Financial Services worth $1,902,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of PFS. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 251,745 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $4,672,000 after acquiring an additional 15,847 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the third quarter worth $766,000. Haverford Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the third quarter valued at $187,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 477.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 156,240 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $2,900,000 after purchasing an additional 129,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 20,616 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 1,257 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on PFS shares. StockNews.com upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.00.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $21.33 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.51 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $19.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.07 and a 52-week high of $22.24.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $349.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.50%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.31%.

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.