Empowered Funds LLC Has $12.38 Million Stock Holdings in Provident Financial Services, Inc $PFS

Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) by 4.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 584,848 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,345 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.45% of Provident Financial Services worth $12,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PFS. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in Provident Financial Services by 7.4% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 88,709 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,877,000 after purchasing an additional 6,101 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 27,084 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 1,547 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 82.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 80.7% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 54,255 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,148,000 after buying an additional 24,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 57.2% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 244,098 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $5,165,000 after buying an additional 88,839 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Provident Financial Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Stephens started coverage on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.00.

Provident Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $24.00 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a 52 week low of $17.61 and a 52 week high of $24.56. The firm has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 0.78.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $234.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $225.57 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.98% and a net margin of 21.95%.During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Provident Financial Services

In other news, CEO George Lista sold 2,556 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.40, for a total value of $57,254.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 109,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,447,468.80. This trade represents a 2.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.