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

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) in a research report released on Thursday. The firm 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 report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Provident Financial Price Performance

Provident Financial stock opened at $13.95 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $15.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.33 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. Provident Financial has a 52-week low of $12.01 and a 52-week high of $16.70.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) last posted its 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 prior year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Provident Financial will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 13th were issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.01%. Provident Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $7,737,000 after acquiring an additional 1,342 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial by 7.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 23,117 shares during the period. Fourthstone LLC lifted its holdings in Provident Financial by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 90,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,433,000 after purchasing an additional 21,030 shares in the last quarter. Black Maple Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Provident Financial by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Black Maple Capital Management LP now owns 31,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557 shares during the period. Finally, 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 valued at $429,000 after buying an additional 1,307 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.