Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) Stock Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PROV)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $15.29 and traded as high as $15.80. Provident Financial shares last traded at $15.69, with a volume of 1,693 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PROV. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Provident Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Provident Financial to a “neutral” rating and set a $16.50 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.50.

Provident Financial Trading Up 0.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company’s 50 day moving average is $15.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.29. The firm has a market cap of $103.24 million, a P/E ratio of 16.87 and a beta of 0.40.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $9.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.50 million. Provident Financial had a return on equity of 4.85% and a net margin of 10.40%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Provident Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.22%.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,120 shares during the last quarter. M3F Inc. boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fourthstone LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 27,556 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.