Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.08 EPS

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.08), Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $14.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.10 million. Provident Financial had a return on equity of 4.69% and a net margin of 10.04%.

Provident Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PROV opened at $16.11 on Wednesday. Provident Financial has a 1 year low of $12.98 and a 1 year high of $16.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.90 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.62.

Provident Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 12th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 12th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Provident Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Provident Financial

In other news, SVP Gwendolyn Wertz sold 4,800 shares of Provident Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.64, for a total value of $75,072.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 20,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $321,198.68. This trade represents a 18.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in Provident Financial stock. Susquehanna International Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PROV) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 17,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $273,000. Susquehanna International Group LLP owned 0.27% of Provident Financial as of its most recent SEC filing. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PROV. Zacks Research raised shares of Provident Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Provident Financial from $16.50 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Provident Financial in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.00.

Provident Financial Company Profile

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NASDAQ: PROV) is a bank holding company headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey, that conducts its operations through its wholly owned subsidiary, Provident Bank. With origins dating back to 1839, the company has grown into a full-service financial institution offering a broad spectrum of products and services to individuals, small businesses and commercial clients.

The company’s principal business activities include retail banking, commercial lending, mortgage finance and wealth management.