Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Provident Financial shares rose above their 200-day moving average, reaching $18.37 before closing at $18.15, compared with the $17.48 average.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock carries a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $18.00, despite mixed rating changes.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.35, exceeding estimates by $0.06, and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, representing a 3.1% yield.

Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PROV - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $17.48 and traded as high as $18.37. Provident Financial shares last traded at $18.15, with a volume of 16,028 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PROV. Zacks Research downgraded Provident Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Provident Financial from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Provident Financial from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Provident Financial to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $18.00.

Provident Financial Stock Down 0.6%

The stock has a market capitalization of $113.07 million, a P/E ratio of 17.62 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.48.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $10.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.00 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. Provident Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial

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

Provident Financial Company Profile

Provident Financial Holdings, Inc is the holding company for Provident Savings Bank, FSB, a community-oriented savings bank headquartered in Riverside, California. The bank provides deposit and lending services to individuals, families, businesses and real estate professionals, with operations focused primarily on Southern California.

Provident Savings Bank offers checking, savings, money market and certificate of deposit accounts, along with residential mortgage loans, multifamily and commercial real estate loans, construction financing, commercial business loans and consumer lending products.

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