Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) Stock Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PROV) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $15.20 and traded as high as $15.55. Provident Financial shares last traded at $15.50, with a volume of 6,122 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on Provident Financial in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

Provident Financial Stock Up 0.5%

The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.19 and a 200-day moving average of $15.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market cap of $103.70 million, a PE ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 0.34.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $10.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.86 million. Provident Financial had a return on equity of 5.09% and a net margin of 10.87%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. Provident Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Gwendolyn Wertz sold 1,940 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.40, for a total transaction of $29,876.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $390,189.80. This represents a 7.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 11.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Provident Financial

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Provident Financial by 7.9% in the 1st 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 period. M3F Inc. increased its position in shares of Provident Financial by 0.5% in the 1st 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 period. Black Maple Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Provident Financial by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Black Maple Capital Management LP now owns 31,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 2,557 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Provident Financial by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 26,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 5,445 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Provident Financial by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 334,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,326,000 after acquiring an additional 23,117 shares during the period. 71.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.