Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Stock Position Trimmed by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its position in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 54.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 102,469 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 120,380 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $1,902,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $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 during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 43.0% in the 2nd 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 period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Provident Financial Services by 1,779.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,876 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 7,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth about $149,000. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:PFS opened at $21.33 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 20.51 and a beta of 1.03. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.07 and a fifty-two week high of $22.24. 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’s 50-day moving average is $19.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.47.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 5.21%. The company had revenue of $349.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $211.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 92.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on PFS shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. 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 note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Provident Financial Services 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.