Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) Now Covered by StockNews.com

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

Separately, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Provident Financial from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Provident Financial Stock Up 1.3 %

PROV traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $15.76. 923 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,010. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. Provident Financial has a 1-year low of $10.76 and a 1-year high of $16.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $14.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.48. The stock has a market cap of $106.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.28 and a beta of 0.39.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $14.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 million. Provident Financial had a net margin of 12.58% and a return on equity of 5.77%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Provident Financial will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Provident Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.38%.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Provident Financial stock. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PROV) by 7.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,575 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.33% of Provident Financial worth $305,000 at the end of the most recent 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.