Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) Stock Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PROV)’s share price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $15.48 and traded as high as $15.48. Provident Financial shares last traded at $15.21, with a volume of 7,261 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PROV has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research cut Provident Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Piper Sandler decreased 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 research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $16.00.

Provident Financial Trading Up 1.3%

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $98.41 million, a PE ratio of 16.90 and a beta of 0.34.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.04). Provident Financial had a net margin of 10.04% and a return on equity of 4.69%. The company had revenue of $14.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.20 million. Equities analysts forecast that Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Provident Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Provident Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Gwendolyn Wertz sold 4,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.64, for a total value of $75,072.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 20,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $321,198.68. This represents a 18.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 11.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Susquehanna International Group LLP purchased a new stake in Provident Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $273,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Provident Financial by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 29,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $424,000 after purchasing an additional 2,120 shares in the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial by 31.4% in the second quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 115,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,786,000 after purchasing an additional 27,556 shares during the period. Finally, M3F Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial by 0.5% in the first quarter. M3F Inc. now owns 438,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,394,000 after purchasing an additional 2,215 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.