Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday. The firm issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Separately, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Provident Financial from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st.

Provident Financial Stock Up 0.1 %

Provident Financial stock opened at $13.24 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $91.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $12.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.27. Provident Financial has a fifty-two week low of $10.16 and a fifty-two week high of $15.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $15.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.57 million. Provident Financial had a return on equity of 5.68% and a net margin of 12.53%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Provident Financial will post 1 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.23%. Provident Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 53.85%.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Provident Financial stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PROV) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,575 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 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.

Provident Financial Company Profile

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.