Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) Upgraded to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

PROV has been the topic of several other reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Provident Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Provident Financial from $16.50 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Provident Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.00.

Provident Financial Price Performance

PROV stock opened at $15.96 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $103.26 million, a PE ratio of 17.73 and a beta of 0.34. Provident Financial has a 12 month low of $12.98 and a 12 month high of $16.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $15.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

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

Provident Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 13th. Provident Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Provident Financial

In other Provident Financial news, SVP Gwendolyn Wertz sold 4,800 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 20,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $321,198.68. This represents a 18.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Provident Financial by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 29,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $424,000 after acquiring an additional 2,120 shares in the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC lifted its position in shares of Provident Financial by 31.4% in the 2nd 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, Susquehanna International Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $273,000. 71.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.