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

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV - Free Report) in a research report released on Monday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the financial services provider's stock.

Separately, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Provident Financial from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Provident Financial Stock Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ PROV traded up $0.01 on Monday, reaching $15.02. The company had a trading volume of 4,097 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,513. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.58 million, a PE ratio of 13.78 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $15.99 and a 200-day moving average of $14.59. 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 1.93, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $9.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial will post 1.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. Provident Financial's payout ratio is presently 51.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Provident Financial stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased 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 Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,657 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,206 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.38% of Provident Financial worth $368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Hedge funds and other 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.