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

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) in a research report released on Friday. The firm issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Separately, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Provident Financial from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Provident Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PROV opened at $15.69 on Friday. Provident Financial has a twelve month low of $12.01 and a twelve month high of $16.70. The firm has a market cap of $106.06 million, a P/E ratio of 17.24 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $15.84 and a 200 day moving average of $15.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 4.80% and a net margin of 10.39%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Provident Financial will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 13th. Provident Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PROV. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Provident Financial by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 25,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206 shares during the period. Fourthstone LLC bought a new stake in Provident Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $991,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Provident Financial by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 486,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,737,000 after purchasing an additional 1,342 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Provident Financial by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 334,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,326,000 after purchasing an additional 23,117 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Provident Financial by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 26,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 5,445 shares during the period. 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.