Jane Street Group LLC Sells 691,087 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Jane Street Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 92.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,350 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 691,087 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $1,009,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 51.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,787,088 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $111,740,000 after acquiring an additional 2,649,643 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,683,467 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $142,605,000 after buying an additional 713,688 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 4,245.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,996,954 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $56,877,000 after acquiring an additional 3,904,975 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,550,462 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $36,599,000 after acquiring an additional 225,839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,888,623 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $35,053,000 after acquiring an additional 198,468 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $18.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.12 and a beta of 1.06. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.25 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 5.21%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 92.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Provident Financial Services news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total transaction of $73,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,254 shares in the company, valued at $715,223.52. This trade represents a 9.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 4.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFS has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Hovde Group started coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.50.

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.