Byrne Asset Management LLC Acquires 1,938 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 193.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,938 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,938 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $50,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFS. PL Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 1,787.0% during the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,533,618 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $47,809,000 after acquiring an additional 2,399,351 shares in the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $17,447,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,225,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,994,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 37.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 878,493 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $16,577,000 after purchasing an additional 240,522 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Provident Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.25.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

NYSE:PFS opened at $16.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.83. The company has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 0.86. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.07 and a 52-week high of $22.24.

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

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.49%.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In other Provident Financial Services news, Chairman Christopher P. Martin sold 55,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.07, for a total transaction of $950,252.76. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 601,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,259,923.50. The trade was a 8.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.10% of the stock is 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.