Insider Selling: Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) Director Sells 5,700 Shares of Company Stock

Key Points

• Director Craig Blunden sold 5,700 shares at an average price of $18.20, for $103,740, reducing his stake by 2.74%; he retained 202,284 shares.
• Provident Financial reported quarterly EPS of $0.25, below the $0.32 analyst consensus, while revenue of $10.57 million exceeded estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 3.1%.

Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PROV - Get Free Report) Director Craig Blunden sold 5,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.20, for a total transaction of $103,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 202,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,681,568.80. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Provident Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PROV traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $18.26. The stock had a trading volume of 3,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,170. Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.95 and a twelve month high of $18.99. The stock has a market cap of $113.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.75 and a beta of 0.33. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $18.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $10.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.30 million. Provident Financial had a return on equity of 5.16% and a net margin of 10.88%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Provident Financial's payout ratio is presently 54.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Provident Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Provident Financial by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,854 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 2,400 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Provident Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $190,000. Susquehanna International Group LLP increased its position in Provident Financial by 73.9% during the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 32,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 13,756 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Provident Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $4,844,000. Institutional investors own 71.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Provident Financial from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Provident Financial to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, October 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Provident Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Provident Financial from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Provident Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $18.00.

About Provident Financial

Provident Financial Holdings, Inc is the holding company for Provident Savings Bank, a federally chartered community bank headquartered in Riverside, California. The bank serves individuals, families and businesses primarily in Southern California, with a focus on the Inland Empire and surrounding communities.

Provident Savings Bank offers a range of traditional banking products and services, including deposit accounts, residential mortgage loans, home equity financing, consumer loans and commercial real estate lending.

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