Piper Sandler Issues Positive Forecast for Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) Stock Price

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) had its target price raised by Piper Sandler from $15.00 to $16.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Provident Financial in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

Provident Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PROV opened at $15.85 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $14.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95 and a beta of 0.40. Provident Financial has a one year low of $10.16 and a one year high of $15.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.03. Provident Financial had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 5.67%. The company had revenue of $14.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial will post 1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. Provident Financial’s payout ratio is currently 52.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Provident Financial stock. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PROV) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,575 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.33% of Provident Financial worth $305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.34% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Company Profile

Provident Financial Holdings, Inc operates as the holding company for Provident Savings Bank, F.S.B. that provides community banking services to consumers and small to mid-sized businesses in the Inland Empire region of Southern California. The company's deposit products include checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as time deposits; and loan portfolio consists of single-family, multi-family, commercial real estate, construction, mortgage, commercial business, and consumer loans.