State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Invests $1.91 Million in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 133,375 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,914,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned approximately 0.10% of Provident Financial Services at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 991.2% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,685 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 17,508.3% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth approximately $76,000. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 3.0 %

PFS opened at $18.86 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.07 and a twelve month high of $19.59.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The savings and loans company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.39). The business had revenue of $141.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $148.60 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 9.38% and a return on equity of 4.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. Analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.09%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 60.00%.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In other Provident Financial Services news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total value of $99,476.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,603,787.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 4.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PFS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.67.

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.