Aigen Investment Management LP Purchases 1,257 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Aigen Investment Management LP grew its position in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,616 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after buying an additional 1,257 shares during the quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $5,564,000. Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the third quarter worth approximately $217,000. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 3,201.7% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 19,051 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 18,474 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1,779.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 7,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in Provident Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $435,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total transaction of $99,476.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,603,787.04. This represents a 5.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:PFS opened at $21.42 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.47 and a beta of 1.03. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $18.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.03. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.07 and a 1 year high of $22.23.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.48%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.67.

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.