Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) in a research report report published on Monday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Separately, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Provident Financial from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Provident Financial Stock Performance

PROV opened at $14.26 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $95.41 million, a P/E ratio of 15.67 and a beta of 0.35. Provident Financial has a 1-year low of $12.01 and a 1-year high of $16.70. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.13). Provident Financial had a return on equity of 4.81% and a net margin of 10.39%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Provident Financial will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.93%. Provident Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 61.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 26,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307 shares during the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC purchased a new stake in Provident Financial during the third quarter valued at $991,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Provident Financial by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 26,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 5,445 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Provident Financial by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 486,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,737,000 after purchasing an additional 1,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Provident Financial by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 334,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,326,000 after purchasing an additional 23,117 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.34% of the company’s stock.

About Provident Financial

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.