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

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

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

Provident Financial Stock Performance

PROV stock opened at $15.45 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.42. 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 has a 12-month low of $10.16 and a 12-month high of $15.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.60 million, a PE ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 0.40.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.03. Provident Financial had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 12.58%. The firm had revenue of $14.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Provident Financial will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. Provident Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.38%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Provident Financial stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PROV) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,575 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.33% of Provident Financial worth $305,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 71.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.