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 report issued on Friday. The firm issued a hold rating on the financial services provider's stock.

Separately, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of 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 Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PROV traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $15.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,607. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.06 million, a PE ratio of 17.24 and a beta of 0.39. Provident Financial has a twelve month low of $12.01 and a twelve month high of $16.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $15.83 and a 200 day moving average of $15.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 last year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Provident Financial will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PROV. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Provident Financial by 4.9% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 25,657 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 1,206 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Provident Financial by 25.9% during the fourth 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 period. Black Maple Capital Management LP grew its position 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 valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 2,557 shares during the period. Fourthstone LLC acquired a new stake in Provident Financial during the third quarter valued at $991,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in 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 buying an additional 23,117 shares during the 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.