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

Equities researchers at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV - Get Free Report) in a research report issued on Friday. The brokerage set a "hold" rating on the financial services provider's stock.

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

Provident Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:PROV traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $14.80. 1,185 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,370. The business has a 50 day moving average of $14.73 and a 200 day moving average of $15.30. Provident Financial has a 1-year low of $12.01 and a 1-year high of $16.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $99.03 million, a P/E ratio of 15.71 and a beta of 0.19.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 4.81% and a net margin of 10.39%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.31 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Provident Financial will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake 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. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC boosted its holdings in Provident Financial by 30.5% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Black Maple Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Provident Financial by 8.9% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Provident Financial by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 26,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.34% of the company's stock.

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.