Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV - Free Report) in a research note released on Tuesday. The firm issued a hold rating on the financial services provider's stock.

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

Provident Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ PROV traded down $0.06 on Tuesday, hitting $13.96. 457 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,328. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $15.25 and a 200-day moving average of $15.33. The stock has a market cap of $93.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.54 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. Provident Financial has a 52 week low of $12.01 and a 52 week high of $16.70.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $0.31 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Provident Financial will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

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Provident Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. Provident Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Provident Financial by 4.9% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 25,657 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Provident Financial by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 26,464 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 5,445 shares during the last quarter. Black Maple Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Black Maple Capital Management LP now owns 31,128 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 2,557 shares during the period. Fourthstone LLC bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial during the third quarter worth about $991,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 334,789 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,326,000 after acquiring an additional 23,117 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.