Everence Capital Management Inc. Takes $253,000 Position in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 14,020 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 35.7% in the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 1,785 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 132.8% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,867 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares during the period. Point72 Middle East FZE bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. First Manhattan Co. grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 106.8% in the 4th quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 2,130 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 48.7% in the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,016 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:PFS opened at $13.75 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $14.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.67. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.22 and a 52-week high of $19.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.04 and a beta of 1.07.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.04). Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 18.46%. The firm had revenue of $114.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.30 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.63 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is 56.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Provident Financial Services from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Provident Financial Services from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Provident Financial Services from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, TheStreet lowered Provident Financial Services from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.86, for a total value of $89,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $169,223.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.