Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 51.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,787,088 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,649,643 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 5.97% of Provident Financial Services worth $111,740,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PFS. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 938,254 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $16,917,000 after purchasing an additional 48,425 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $9,419,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 71,543 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,290,000 after purchasing an additional 4,789 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 334.5% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 103,938 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after acquiring an additional 80,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 17,508.3% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 2,101 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

NYSE:PFS opened at $18.83 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50-day moving average is $18.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.87. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.07 and a 1-year high of $19.59.

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

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.10%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.00%.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In other news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total value of $99,476.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,787.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFS has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.67.

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.