Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Shares Acquired by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,084 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after acquiring an additional 839 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PFS. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 10.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,683,467 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $142,605,000 after purchasing an additional 713,688 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,947,394 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $54,715,000 after buying an additional 53,943 shares during the last quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 1,787.0% in the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,533,618 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $47,809,000 after buying an additional 2,399,351 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 11.7% in the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,888,623 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $35,053,000 after buying an additional 198,468 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 13,182.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,854,596 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $34,421,000 after acquiring an additional 1,840,633 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $17.34 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $18.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.99. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.07 and a 1 year high of $22.24.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 5.60% and a net margin of 10.13%. Research analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 91.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PFS. Hovde Group started coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

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.