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

Equities research analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) in a note issued to investors on Saturday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Separately, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Provident Financial from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st.

Provident Financial Stock Performance

Provident Financial stock opened at $12.51 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Provident Financial has a 12-month low of $10.16 and a 12-month high of $15.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03 and a beta of 0.39.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.02). Provident Financial had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 5.56%. The business had revenue of $9.41 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.72 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of 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 first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,575 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.33% of Provident Financial worth $305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 71.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.