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

Stock analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Wednesday. The firm set a "hold" rating on the financial services provider's stock.

Separately, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Provident Financial from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th.

Provident Financial Stock Performance

PROV opened at $15.05 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $100.70 million, a P/E ratio of 16.54 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $14.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.31. Provident Financial has a 1-year low of $12.01 and a 1-year high of $16.70.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $10.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.86 million. Provident Financial had a return on equity of 4.81% and a net margin of 10.39%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Provident Financial will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial by 7.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 23,117 shares during the period. Fourthstone LLC lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 90,080 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,433,000 after purchasing an additional 21,030 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 26,464 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 5,445 shares during the period. Black Maple Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Black Maple Capital Management LP now owns 31,128 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557 shares during the period. Finally, M3F Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Provident Financial by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. M3F Inc. now owns 438,215 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,394,000 after purchasing an additional 2,215 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.

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