Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Makes New Investment in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 124,995 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,320,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 991.2% during 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 43.0% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,050 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services during the first quarter worth approximately $76,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 1,779.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,876 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $146,000 after buying an additional 7,457 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE PFS opened at $21.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $19.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.31. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.07 and a 12 month high of $22.23.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.11). Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 9.55%. The company had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.49%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 92.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PFS. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.00.

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.