Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Shares Acquired by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,825,993 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,201 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.40% of Provident Financial Services worth $34,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PFS. PL Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 1,787.0% during the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,533,618 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $47,809,000 after acquiring an additional 2,399,351 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 13,182.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,854,596 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $34,421,000 after acquiring an additional 1,840,633 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 10.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 713,688 shares in the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 87.3% during the 3rd quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 892,708 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $16,569,000 after acquiring an additional 416,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 55.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 795,855 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $14,771,000 after acquiring an additional 283,879 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

PFS stock opened at $17.14 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.32 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s 50-day moving average is $18.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.08. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.13). Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 5.60%. Analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.60%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 91.43%.

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.