Versor Investments LP Acquires 78,736 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Versor Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) by 216.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 115,136 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after acquiring an additional 78,736 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $2,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of PFS. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Provident Financial Services by 84.5% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,207,898 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $55,080,000 after buying an additional 1,469,432 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Provident Financial Services by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,584,298 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $44,372,000 after buying an additional 127,897 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 1st quarter valued at $17,412,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Provident Financial Services by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 649,485 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $11,152,000 after buying an additional 16,941 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC bought a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $10,545,000. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on PFS. DA Davidson lowered Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research lowered Provident Financial Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Hovde Group increased their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John Pugliese sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.91, for a total transaction of $497,750.00. Following the sale, the director owned 87,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,750,228.37. This trade represents a 22.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.90, for a total value of $59,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,633 shares in the company, valued at $788,696.70. The trade was a 7.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

PFS stock opened at $18.33 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $19.39 and its 200-day moving average is $18.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.35 and a beta of 0.91. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a twelve month low of $14.34 and a twelve month high of $22.24.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 17th. The savings and loans company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $114.54 million for the quarter. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 18.76%. Equities research analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 48.98%.

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.