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

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV - Free Report) in a report issued on Thursday 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 for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th.

Provident Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ PROV traded down $0.03 during trading on Thursday, hitting $15.90. 2,169 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,607. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.47 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The business has a 50 day moving average of $15.88 and a 200-day moving average of $14.99. Provident Financial has a 12-month low of $12.01 and a 12-month high of $16.70.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.13 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 13th. Provident Financial's payout ratio is 61.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Provident Financial stock. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PROV - Free Report) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,307 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.40% of Provident Financial worth $429,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.34% of the company's stock.

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.