Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PROV - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $14.32 and traded as high as $16.01. Provident Financial shares last traded at $15.91, with a volume of 4,763 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PROV shares. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Provident Financial in a research note on Saturday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Provident Financial from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Provident Financial Stock Down 1.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $107.60 million, a P/E ratio of 14.60 and a beta of 0.38. 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 firm's fifty day moving average is $15.90 and its 200-day moving average is $14.32.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.03. Provident Financial had a net margin of 12.58% and a return on equity of 5.78%. The company had revenue of $14.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 1.05 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. Provident Financial's payout ratio is 51.38%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Provident Financial stock. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PROV - Free Report) by 4.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,657 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,206 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.38% of Provident Financial worth $368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Institutional investors 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.