Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) Issues Earnings Results

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.06), Zacks reports. Provident Financial had a net margin of 10.04% and a return on equity of 4.69%.

Provident Financial Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ PROV opened at $16.13 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market cap of $104.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99 and a beta of 0.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.62. Provident Financial has a 52 week low of $12.98 and a 52 week high of $16.35.

Provident Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 12th will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 12th. Provident Financial’s dividend payout ratio 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.64, for a total transaction of $75,072.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 20,537 shares in the company, valued at $321,198.68. This trade represents a 18.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 11.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds 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 third quarter, according to 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Institutional investors own 71.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.