Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Has $16.57 Million Holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. raised its position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 87.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 892,708 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after purchasing an additional 416,020 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $16,569,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PFS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 51.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,787,088 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $111,740,000 after buying an additional 2,649,643 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 4,245.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,996,954 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $56,877,000 after acquiring an additional 3,904,975 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Provident Financial Services by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,550,462 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $36,599,000 after acquiring an additional 225,839 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,792,792 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $33,274,000 after acquiring an additional 102,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 125.3% in the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,690,155 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $24,254,000 after purchasing an additional 939,951 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of PFS opened at $21.12 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.52. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.07 and a 1-year high of $22.24. The company has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31 and a beta of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $349.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.55%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 92.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Thursday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Provident Financial Services Company 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.