Fourthstone LLC Makes New Investment in Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PROV)

Fourthstone LLC bought a new position in Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PROV) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 69,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $991,000. Fourthstone LLC owned about 1.02% of Provident Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

Separately, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Provident Financial by 4.9% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 25,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.34% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ PROV traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $15.95. 1,863 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,047. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63 and a beta of 0.39. Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.10 and a 52-week high of $16.24. The company’s 50-day moving average is $15.12 and its 200-day moving average is $13.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $14.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 million. Provident Financial had a net margin of 12.58% and a return on equity of 5.78%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 1.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. Provident Financial’s payout ratio is 51.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PROV. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Provident Financial from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Provident Financial in a report on Thursday, November 7th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock.

Provident Financial Company Profile

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.