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 report released on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the financial services provider's stock.

Separately, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Provident Financial from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Provident Financial Price Performance

Provident Financial stock traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $13.90. The stock had a trading volume of 13,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,418. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.00 million, a P/E ratio of 15.27 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The firm's 50 day moving average is $15.03 and its 200 day moving average is $15.33. Provident Financial has a one year low of $12.01 and a one year high of $16.70.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 4.81% and a net margin of 10.39%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.31 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Provident Financial will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.03%. Provident Financial's payout ratio is 61.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PROV. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings 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. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Provident Financial by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 26,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307 shares during the period. Black Maple Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Provident Financial by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Black Maple Capital Management LP now owns 31,128 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 2,557 shares during the period. Fourthstone LLC increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 90,080 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,433,000 after acquiring an additional 21,030 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial by 7.4% during the 4th 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 last quarter. 71.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.