Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

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

Separately, Piper Sandler cut their price objective 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 Price Performance

Provident Financial stock opened at $15.41 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.32. Provident Financial has a 52 week low of $12.01 and a 52 week high of $16.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.11 million, a PE ratio of 16.93 and a beta of 0.19.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $10.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.86 million. Provident Financial had a net margin of 10.39% and a return on equity of 4.81%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Provident Financial will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Provident Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Provident Financial by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 26,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 5,445 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Provident Financial by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 26,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares during the period. Black Maple Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Black Maple Capital Management LP now owns 31,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557 shares in the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC lifted its position in Provident Financial by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 90,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,433,000 after acquiring an additional 21,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial by 7.4% in 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.