Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) in a report released on Wednesday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Separately, Piper Sandler dropped 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 report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Provident Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PROV opened at $14.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $94.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.51 and a beta of 0.35. 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 has a 12 month low of $12.01 and a 12 month high of $16.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $15.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.33.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.13 EPS 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. Provident Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fourthstone LLC acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $991,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial by 5.1% in the 4th 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. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial by 0.3% in the 4th 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 during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in 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 worth $5,326,000 after purchasing an additional 23,117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised 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 buying an additional 5,445 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.