Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) Shares Acquired by Cetera Investment Advisers

Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 282,898 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after buying an additional 17,782 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers owned about 0.22% of Provident Financial Services worth $5,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PFS. PL Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1,787.0% in the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,533,618 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $47,809,000 after buying an additional 2,399,351 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,225,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,994,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,026,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 37.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 878,493 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $16,577,000 after purchasing an additional 240,522 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on PFS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.25.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

PFS opened at $17.99 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.07 and a 52-week high of $22.24. The company has a 50 day moving average of $16.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.43. The company has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.13 and a beta of 0.84.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.03. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 5.60%. The company had revenue of $208.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $206.86 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. Provident Financial Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 82.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 86.49%.

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.