Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PROV) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $15.05 and traded as high as $15.86. Provident Financial shares last traded at $15.78, with a volume of 12,244 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Provident Financial from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Provident Financial in a research note on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

Provident Financial Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $106.06 million, a P/E ratio of 17.24 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.13). Provident Financial had a net margin of 10.39% and a return on equity of 4.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. Provident Financial’s payout ratio is 61.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Provident Financial by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 486,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,737,000 after buying an additional 1,342 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Provident Financial by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 334,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,326,000 after buying an additional 23,117 shares in the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC grew its position in Provident Financial by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 90,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,433,000 after buying an additional 21,030 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Provident Financial by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 26,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $429,000 after buying an additional 1,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Provident Financial by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 26,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $421,000 after buying an additional 5,445 shares in the last quarter. 71.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.