Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $1.23 Million in Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 57,900 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,225,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PFS. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 40.4% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,308,774 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $44,513,000 after buying an additional 664,021 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $4,209,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 2,957.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 787,172 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $15,547,000 after acquiring an additional 761,427 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,096,733 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $21,145,000 after acquiring an additional 279,216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 896,079 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $17,698,000 after acquiring an additional 171,103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 0.0%

Provident Financial Services stock opened at $23.53 on Friday. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 52 week low of $17.61 and a 52 week high of $24.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of 10.01 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.79.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $225.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.62 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.98% and a net margin of 21.95%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 40.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Provident Financial Services

In other news, CEO George Lista sold 2,556 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.40, for a total value of $57,254.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 109,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,447,468.80. This represents a 2.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stephens assumed coverage on Provident Financial Services in a report on Monday, June 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.79.

About Provident Financial Services

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.