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

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

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

Provident Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PROV opened at $15.59 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.31 million, a PE ratio of 17.13 and a beta of 0.39. 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $15.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.17. Provident Financial has a 52-week low of $12.01 and a 52-week high of $16.70.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share 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 quarter last year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Provident Financial will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 13th. Provident Financial’s payout ratio is 61.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Provident Financial by 0.3% during 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 during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 23,117 shares in the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 90,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,433,000 after acquiring an additional 21,030 shares during the last quarter. Black Maple Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Provident Financial by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Black Maple Capital Management LP now owns 31,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $495,000 after acquiring an additional 2,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307 shares during the last quarter. 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.