Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PROV) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest in Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. decreased by 26.1% in August, dropping from 28,000 shares to 20,700 shares.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $0.24, missing analysts' estimates of $0.29, with a revenue of $9.76 million against expectations of $10.50 million.
• Provident Financial has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.14, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.6% and a payout ratio of 60.22%.

Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PROV - Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 20,700 shares, a decline of 26.1% from the August 15th total of 28,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 6,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. M3F Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial by 0.5% in the first quarter. M3F Inc. now owns 438,215 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,394,000 after buying an additional 2,215 shares in the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial by 31.4% in the second quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 115,210 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,786,000 after buying an additional 27,556 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial by 7.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 29,084 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $424,000 after buying an additional 2,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 26,464 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 5,445 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on PROV. Wall Street Zen began coverage on Provident Financial in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Piper Sandler upgraded Provident Financial to a "neutral" rating and set a $16.50 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $16.50.

Provident Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:PROV traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $15.71. 12,950 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,822. Provident Financial has a one year low of $12.98 and a one year high of $16.70. The company has a market capitalization of $103.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.89 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $15.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.05). Provident Financial had a return on equity of 4.85% and a net margin of 10.40%.The firm had revenue of $9.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Provident Financial will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Provident Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.22%.

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.