Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PROV) Short Interest Up 17.9% in August

Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PROV) saw a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 26,400 shares, an increase of 17.9% from the August 15th total of 22,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 8,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days. Approximately 0.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PROV has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Provident Financial in a research note on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Provident Financial from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st.

Provident Financial Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:PROV traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $14.69. 3,663 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,565. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.77 million, a P/E ratio of 14.13 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $13.41 and its 200-day moving average is $13.18. Provident Financial has a 12-month low of $10.16 and a 12-month high of $15.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.05. Provident Financial had a return on equity of 5.67% and a net margin of 12.53%. The firm had revenue of $15.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Provident Financial will post 1 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. Provident Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Provident Financial stock. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PROV) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,575 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.33% of Provident Financial worth $305,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 71.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.