Empowered Funds LLC Takes Position in Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. $PROV

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PROV) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 601,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $14,229,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Provident Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PROV. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Provident Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,251,000. Raffles Associates LP purchased a new stake in shares of Provident Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,727,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Provident Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $454,936,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Provident Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $9,789,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in Provident Financial during the second quarter worth $1,244,000. Institutional investors own 71.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Provident Financial news, SVP David Weiant sold 2,732 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.12, for a total value of $46,771.84. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 6,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $105,716. This trade represents a 30.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 4,744 shares of company stock valued at $81,076 in the last 90 days. 11.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Provident Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ PROV opened at $18.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The company has a market cap of $114.69 million, a P/E ratio of 17.82 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $17.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.96. Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.95 and a 1-year high of $18.53.

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.06. Provident Financial had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 5.22%. The business had revenue of $15.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.00 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 1.22 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Provident Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PROV has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Provident Financial from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Provident Financial in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Provident Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Provident Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.00.

Provident Financial Company Profile

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.