Provident Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:PVBC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Provident Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:PVBC) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 287,300 shares, an increase of 142.0% from the June 30th total of 118,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 81,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Provident Bancorp in a research note on Monday, May 13th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Provident Bancorp news, CFO Kenneth R. Fisher purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $9.61 per share, for a total transaction of $48,050.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $48,050. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Provident Bancorp news, CFO Kenneth R. Fisher bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $9.61 per share, for a total transaction of $48,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,050. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Joseph Stilwell sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.62, for a total transaction of $721,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 271,014 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,607,154.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 16,075 shares of company stock worth $158,161. Company insiders own 3.88% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PVBC. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Provident Bancorp by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 35,380 shares of the bank’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 2,625 shares during the last quarter. Stilwell Value LLC lifted its position in Provident Bancorp by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Stilwell Value LLC now owns 1,831,467 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,443,000 after buying an additional 10,601 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. acquired a new position in Provident Bancorp during the third quarter worth $243,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Provident Bancorp by 135.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 64,524 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $657,000 after buying an additional 37,151 shares in the last quarter. 74.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Provident Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of PVBC traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $11.86. 31,415 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 152,477. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $10.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $209.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.12 and a beta of 0.46. Provident Bancorp has a 12-month low of $7.36 and a 12-month high of $12.32.

Provident Bancorp (NASDAQ:PVBC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The bank reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $13.84 million during the quarter. Provident Bancorp had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 6.27%. Research analysts expect that Provident Bancorp will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

About Provident Bancorp

Provident Bancorp, Inc is a Maryland corporation that was formed in 2019 to be the successor corporation to Provident Bancorp, Inc, a Massachusetts corporation, and the holding company for The Provident Bank. The Provident Bank, a subsidiary of Provident Bancorp, Inc is an innovative, commercial bank that finds solutions for its business and private clients.