Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) Stock Dropped to Hold by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Provident Financial from “strong buy” to “hold,” bringing the consensus analyst rating to “Hold” with an average price target of $18.00.
• Provident Financial reported quarterly earnings of $0.35 per share, beating expectations of $0.29, while revenue reached $10.59 million versus the $10.00 million consensus estimate.
• Institutional ownership stands at 71.34%, with several large investors—including Raffles Associates, Manufacturers Life Insurance, and BlackRock—establishing new positions during the second quarter.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Provident Financial from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Provident Financial to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Provident Financial from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Provident Financial currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $18.00.

Provident Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PROV opened at $18.31 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $114.07 million, a PE ratio of 17.78 and a beta of 0.32. The company's fifty day moving average is $18.23 and its 200 day moving average is $17.38. Provident Financial has a 52 week low of $14.95 and a 52 week high of $18.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.06. Provident Financial had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 5.23%. The business had revenue of $10.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.00 million. Research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Raffles Associates LP purchased a new position in Provident Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,727,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Provident Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,224,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,844,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $595,000. Finally, Susquehanna International Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Provident Financial by 73.9% during the second quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 32,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 13,756 shares during the period. 71.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Provident Financial Company Profile

Provident Financial Holdings, Inc is the holding company for Provident Savings Bank, FSB, a community-oriented financial institution headquartered in Riverside, California. Through its banking subsidiary, the company serves consumers, businesses and real estate professionals primarily in Southern California, including communities in the Inland Empire and surrounding areas.

Provident Savings Bank offers a range of deposit products, including checking, savings, money market and certificate accounts.

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