Insider Selling: Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) Director Sells $103,740.00 in Stock

Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PROV) Director Craig Blunden sold 5,700 shares of Provident Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.20, for a total transaction of $103,740.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 202,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,681,568.80. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Provident Financial Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of PROV opened at $18.32 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $111.94 million, a P/E ratio of 17.79 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.20. Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.95 and a 52 week high of $18.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.28.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.07). Provident Financial had a return on equity of 5.18% and a net margin of 10.88%. The company had revenue of $10.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.30 million. On average, analysts forecast that Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Provident Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on PROV. Wall Street Zen upgraded Provident Financial to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 3rd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Provident Financial from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Provident Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Provident Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $18.00.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Susquehanna International Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial by 73.9% during the second quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 32,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 13,756 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $595,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Raffles Associates LP bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,727,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Provident Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $5,224,000. Institutional investors own 71.34% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Company Profile

Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. is the holding company for Provident Savings Bank, a federally chartered community bank headquartered in Riverside, California. The bank serves individuals, families and businesses primarily in Southern California, with a focus on the Inland Empire and surrounding communities. Provident Savings Bank offers a range of traditional banking products and services, including deposit accounts, residential mortgage loans, home equity financing, consumer loans and commercial real estate lending.