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

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

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

Provident Financial Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ PROV opened at $14.01 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.33. Provident Financial has a fifty-two week low of $12.01 and a fifty-two week high of $16.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.74 million, a P/E ratio of 15.40 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 (NASDAQ:PROV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.13). Provident Financial had a net margin of 10.39% and a return on equity of 4.81%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Provident Financial will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. Provident Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 61.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased 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 in the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial during the third quarter worth $991,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Provident Financial by 25.9% during the fourth 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 position in Provident Financial by 0.3% in 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 grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. 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.