Renaissance Technologies LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Renaissance Technologies LLC lowered its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) by 71.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,845 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 118,424 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $991,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 10.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,359,098 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $122,603,000 after purchasing an additional 576,673 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 38.1% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,239,628 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $24,483,000 after buying an additional 342,301 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 251.3% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 413,107 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $7,242,000 after buying an additional 295,521 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,070,734 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $170,775,000 after buying an additional 256,540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 493.6% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 301,329 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $5,951,000 after acquiring an additional 250,566 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:PFS opened at $24.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 52-week low of $17.69 and a 52-week high of $25.49. The stock has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $23.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.60.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 11.00%. The company had revenue of $234.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. DA Davidson set a $26.00 price objective on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Hovde Group raised their price objective on Provident Financial Services from $26.50 to $28.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 target price (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.79.

Provident Financial Services Profile

Provident Financial Services, Inc is the bank holding company for Provident Bank, a regional commercial bank headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. The company operates a network of full-service branches across New Jersey, the New York metropolitan area and eastern Pennsylvania, offering a range of personal and business banking solutions.

Its core products and services include checking and savings accounts, consumer and residential mortgage loans, commercial real estate financing and small-business lending.