Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on PROV. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Provident Financial from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Provident Financial in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.00.

Provident Financial Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Provident Financial stock opened at $18.32 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $17.54 and its 200 day moving average is $16.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.57 million, a PE ratio of 17.79 and a beta of 0.33. Provident Financial has a 1 year low of $14.95 and a 1 year high of $18.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.06. Provident Financial had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 5.22%. The business had revenue of $15.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.00 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Provident Financial will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. Provident Financial’s payout ratio is presently 54.37%.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial

In other Provident Financial news, SVP David Weiant sold 2,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.12, for a total value of $46,771.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 6,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,716. This represents a 30.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,744 shares of company stock valued at $81,076. Corporate insiders own 11.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,251,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $454,936,000. Raffles Associates LP acquired a new position in shares of Provident Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $6,727,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Provident Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $9,789,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Provident Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,244,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.34% of the company’s stock.

About Provident Financial

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.