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

Equities researchers at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) in a note issued to investors on Wednesday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Separately, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of 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 Performance

Shares of PROV opened at $15.85 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $107.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.54 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.85. Provident Financial has a 1 year low of $12.01 and a 1 year high of $16.70.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.13). Provident Financial had a net margin of 12.58% and a return on equity of 5.78%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.31 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Provident Financial will post 1.05 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Provident Financial stock. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PROV) by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,206 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.38% of Provident Financial worth $368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.34% of the company’s stock.

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.