D.A. Davidson & CO. Purchases 944 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 29,402 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after buying an additional 944 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PFS. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Provident Financial Services by 991.2% in 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. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 43.0% during 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 in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $146,000 after buying an additional 7,457 shares during the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth about $163,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth about $178,000. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFS opened at $20.66 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.87 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $19.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.59. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.07 and a twelve month high of $22.24.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.