Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 118,424 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Renaissance Technologies LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) by 71.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure 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).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 82.0% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 341,162 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $7,219,000 after purchasing an additional 153,698 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,209,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,868,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 256,540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,225,000. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $24.64 on Friday. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 1 year low of $17.69 and a 1 year high of $25.49. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.60. The company has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

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

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PFS shares. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. DA Davidson set a $26.00 price target on Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 price target (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.79.

Provident Financial Services Company 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.