Sei Investments Co. Buys 24,223 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) by 80.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 54,255 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after buying an additional 24,223 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $1,148,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,209,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the first quarter worth approximately $2,868,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 3.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,070,734 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $170,775,000 after purchasing an additional 256,540 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Provident Financial Services in the first quarter worth approximately $1,225,000. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 worth $17,698,000 after purchasing an additional 171,103 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $29.00 price objective (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday, July 31st. DA Davidson set a $26.00 target price on Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on Provident Financial Services in a report on Monday, June 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.79.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $24.81 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 10.34 and a beta of 0.78. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 1 year low of $17.69 and a 1 year high of $25.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $23.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.55. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $232.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $225.57 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 11.00%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.00%.

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.