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

Investment analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) in a research report issued on Sunday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

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

Provident Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PROV opened at $15.30 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $15.68 and a 200-day moving average of $15.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.37 million, a P/E ratio of 16.81 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. Provident Financial has a twelve month low of $12.01 and a twelve month high of $16.70.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.13). Provident Financial had a net margin of 10.39% and a return on equity of 4.81%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.31 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Provident Financial will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PROV. Black Maple Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Black Maple Capital Management LP now owns 31,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $495,000 after acquiring an additional 2,557 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 26,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 5,445 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 23,117 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fourthstone LLC grew its stake in shares of Provident Financial by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 90,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,433,000 after acquiring an additional 21,030 shares in the last quarter. 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.