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

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

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

Provident Financial Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PROV opened at $15.69 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $15.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.07. Provident Financial has a 12-month low of $12.01 and a 12-month high of $16.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.06 million, a P/E ratio of 17.24 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.13). Provident Financial had a return on equity of 4.80% and a net margin of 10.39%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Provident Financial will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. Provident Financial’s payout ratio is 61.54%.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Provident Financial by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 25,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 1,206 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Provident Financial by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 486,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,737,000 after acquiring an additional 1,342 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Provident Financial by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 26,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 5,445 shares in the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC boosted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial by 7.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 23,117 shares during the last quarter. 71.34% of the stock is owned by 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.