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

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

Provident Financial Stock Up 0.6 %

PROV stock opened at $13.44 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.14 million, a PE ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 0.40. Provident Financial has a 1-year low of $10.16 and a 1-year high of $15.40. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.99.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $9.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.00 million. Provident Financial had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 14.43%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial will post 1.05 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. Provident Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 48.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raffles Associates LP grew its holdings in Provident Financial by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Raffles Associates LP now owns 391,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,334,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Provident Financial by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 352,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,826,000 after buying an additional 8,604 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in Provident Financial by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 290,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,702,000 after buying an additional 2,413 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Provident Financial by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 164,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,092,000 after buying an additional 9,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 67,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $853,000 after acquiring an additional 1,896 shares during the period. 71.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Provident Financial

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.