StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV)

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

Separately, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Provident Financial from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st.

Provident Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PROV opened at $15.45 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.42. Provident Financial has a 1-year low of $10.16 and a 1-year high of $15.91. The firm has a market cap of $104.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.03. Provident Financial had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 12.58%. The business had revenue of $14.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Provident Financial will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Provident Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.38%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Provident Financial stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PROV) by 7.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor 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 0.33% of Provident Financial worth $305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 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.