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

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

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

Provident Financial Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of PROV opened at $14.26 on Monday. Provident Financial has a twelve month low of $12.01 and a twelve month high of $16.70. The company has a market cap of $95.41 million, a P/E ratio of 15.67 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.33.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Provident Financial will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Provident Financial by 5.1% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC bought a new position in Provident Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $991,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Provident Financial by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 26,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 5,445 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Provident Financial by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 486,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,737,000 after acquiring an additional 1,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 334,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,326,000 after buying an additional 23,117 shares in the last quarter. 71.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.