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

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) in a research report sent to investors on Friday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Provident Financial Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of PROV opened at $13.94 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. Provident Financial has a 12-month low of $10.16 and a 12-month high of $15.40. The business’s 50 day moving average is $14.12 and its 200 day moving average is $12.87. The company has a market capitalization of $96.60 million, a PE ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 0.41.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.05. Provident Financial had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 14.43%. The business had revenue of $9.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.00 million. Research analysts expect that Provident Financial will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. Provident Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PROV. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Provident Financial by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 67,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $853,000 after acquiring an additional 1,896 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Provident Financial by 38.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 6,458 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Provident Financial by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 25,798 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,173 shares during the period. Black Maple Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Provident Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $154,000. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Provident Financial by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 164,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,092,000 after acquiring an additional 9,813 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.15% of the company’s stock.

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.