UPDATE: Raymond James Downgrades Provident Financial Holdings on Dramatic Reduction in Mortgage-Banking Income

In a report published Friday, Raymond James analyst Donald A. Worthington downgraded the rating on Provident Financial Holdings PROV from Outperform to Market Perform, and removed the $20.00 price target. In the report, Raymond James noted, “We are lowering our investment rating on shares of Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. to Market Perform from Outperform as we have sharply lowered our EPS estimates in the face of lower mortgage-banking volumes and reduced gain on sale margins. The company's credit quality continues to improve and capital ratios remain robust. We do not see a catalyst to move the share price up appreciably in the near term and shares are fairly valued, in our opinion.” Provident Financial Holdings closed on Thursday at $15.16.