How to buy Provident Financial shares

Provident Financial PLC (PFG) is a publicly traded credit services business based in the UK. It opened the day at 244.181p after a previous close of 241.8p. During the day the price has varied from a low of 241p to a high of 244.181p. The latest price was 242p (25 minute delay). Provident Financial is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and employs 2,535 staff. All prices are listed in pence sterling.

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Fees for buying 100x Provident Financial shares with popular platforms

Share prices fluctuate in real time, so the costs presented here should be considered as a guide only. They do not incorporate stamp duty. Always refer to the platform itself for availability and pricing – which may differ from our information.

Platform	Customer rating	Platform fee	Min. initial deposit	Trading fee estimate
	★★★★★	£0 - £9.99	No minimum	£0.00 £242.00 total	Go to site Capital at risk
	★★★★★	£0	$50	£0.00 £242.00 total	Go to site Capital at risk
	★★★★★	£0	£250	£8.00 £250.00 total	Go to site Capital at risk
	Not yet rated	£0	No minimum	£0.00 £242.00 total	Go to site Capital at risk
	★★★★★	£0	£1	£11.95 £253.95 total	Go to site Capital at risk
	★★★★★	£0	No minimum	£1.77 £243.77 total	Read review Capital at risk

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Alternative ways to invest in Provident Financial

• Invest in Provident Financial via a fund

  Buying shares in just one company can leave you more exposed to unexpected swings in the market than if you have a range of investments - a "diversified portfolio". Experts generally recommend having a broad mix of assets and funds that hold a ready-made portfolio of at least 50 different companies' shares, on the basis that drops in the value of some will be offset by rises elsewhere.

  Provident Financial is a major part of the LSE index, so it's included in many global funds and investment trusts, as well as tracker-style exchange traded funds (ETFs).

• Invest in Provident Financial via S&P 500

  Logo	Fund (Ticker)	5 year growth	1 year growth	Link to invest
  	Invesco S&P 500 (SPXP)	79.10%	4.61%	Capital at risk
  	Xtrackers S&P 500 Swap (XSPX)	78.94%	4.55%	Invest with IG Capital at risk
  	iShares Core S&P 500 (CSP1)	76.41%	4.03%	Invest with IG Capital at risk
  	HSBC S&P 500 (HSPX)	65.02%	2.76%	Invest with Saxo Capital at risk
  	Vanguard S&P 500 (VUSA)	63.95%	2.62%	Invest with IG Capital at risk
  	SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)	51.89%	1.68%	Invest with eToro Capital at risk

• Invest in Provident Financial via FTSE 250

  Icon	Fund	5-year growth	1-year growth (to February 2023)	Link to invest
  	Vanguard FTSE 250 UCITS ETF Distributing (VMID)	15.11%	-5.78%	Invest with FreetradeCapital at risk
  	Invesco FTSE 250 UCITS ETF (S250)	15.42%	-5.08%	Invest with IGCapital at risk
  	iShares FTSE 250 UCITS ETF (MIDD)	14.33%	-5.30%	Invest with eToroCapital at risk
  	HSBC FTSE 250 UCITS ETF GBP (HMCX)	14.31%	-5.30%	Invest with IGCapital at risk
  	Xtrackers FTSE 250 UCITS ETF 1D (XMCX)	14.42%	-5.92%	Invest with IGCapital at risk

  All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.

Is it a good time to buy Provident Financial stock?

Only you can make the decision on the time to leap. The gauge below shows real-time ratings that are based on 26 popular indicators such as moving averages, for specific time periods. It's not a recommendation but is simply technical analysis that can form part of your research.

Finder might not agree with the analysis and we take no responsibility. We also give no representations or warranty on the accuracy or completeness of the information provided on this page.

• See the technical analysis gauge

• See Provident Financial share price (LSE:PFG)

  Use our graph to track the performance of PFG stocks over time.

  Share price volatility

  Over the last 12 months, Provident Financial's shares have ranged in value from as little as 130p up to 250.0407p. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

  Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (LSE average) beta is 1, while Provident Financial's is 1.4975. This would suggest that Provident Financial's shares are more volatile than the average for this exchange and represent, relatively-speaking, a higher risk (but potentially also market-beating returns).

• What's Provident Financial price performance over time?

  Historical closes compared with the last close of 242p

  6 months (2022-12-08)	28.18%
  1 year (2022-06-08)	-1.87%
  2 years (2021-06-08)	-0.25%
  3 years (2020-06-08)	3.68%
  5 years (2018-06-08)	-62.93%

Invest in Provident Financial shares

• Start investing from $50
• Pay no stamp duty on UK shares
• Commission-free trading. Other fees may apply.

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Is Provident Financial under- or over-valued?

Valuing a stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge value. Check out the Provident Financial P/E ratio, PEG ratio and EBITDA

• P/E ratio

Frequently asked questions

• Does Provident Financial pay dividends?

  • Dividend yield
  • Forward yield
  • Payout ratio

  Dividend yield: 7.62% of stock value

  Forward annual dividend yield: 7.62% of stock value

  Dividend payout ratio: 40.75% of net profits

  Provident Financial has recently paid out dividends equivalent to 7.62% of its share value annually.

  Provident Financial has paid out, on average, around 40.75% of recent net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 7.62% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), shareholders could enjoy a 7.62% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In Provident Financial's case, that would currently equate to about 17p per share.

  While Provident Financial's payout ratio might seem fairly standard, it's worth remembering that it may be investing much of the rest of its net profits in future growth.

  The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 11 August 2022 (the "ex-dividend date").

  • Provident Financial dividend history

    Dividend	Type	Ex-dividend date	Payment date
    £0.16	Final	02/04/2020	22/05/2020
    £0.09	Interim	15/08/2019	26/09/2019
    £0.1	Final	23/05/2019	21/06/2019
    £0.914	Final	18/05/2017	23/06/2017
    £0.432	Interim	27/10/2016	25/11/2016
    £0.809	Final	19/05/2016	24/06/2016
    £0.392	Interim	29/10/2015	27/11/2015
    £0.639	Final	21/05/2015	19/06/2015
    £0.341	Interim	29/10/2014	28/11/2014
    £0.54	Final	21/05/2014	20/06/2014
    £0.31	Interim	30/10/2013	29/11/2013
    £0.484	Final	22/05/2013	21/06/2013
    £0.288	Interim	31/10/2012	30/11/2012
    £0.423	Final	16/05/2012	21/06/2012
    £0.267	Interim	02/11/2011	30/11/2011
    £0.381	Final	11/05/2011	21/06/2011
    £0.254	Interim	03/11/2010	30/11/2010
    £0.381	Final	03/05/2010	21/06/2010
    £0.254	Interim	04/11/2009	30/11/2009
    £0.381	Final	13/05/2009	19/06/2009
    £0.254	Interim	30/10/2008	28/11/2008
    £0.381	Final	14/05/2008	20/06/2008
    £0.1448	Interim	30/10/2007	28/11/2007
    £0.2202	Final	04/04/2007	25/05/2007
    £0.1448	Interim	20/09/2006	20/10/2006
    £0.2137	Final	05/04/2006	26/05/2006
    £0.1406	Interim	21/09/2005	14/10/2005
    £0.2075	Final	13/04/2005	03/06/2005
    £0.1365	Interim	15/09/2004	15/10/2004
    £0.199	Final	07/04/2004	14/05/2004
    £0.131	Interim	17/09/2003	17/10/2003
    £0.1844	Final	09/04/2003	09/05/2003
    £0.1246	Interim	18/09/2002	18/10/2002
    £0.176	Final	17/04/2002	10/05/2002
    £0.1175	Interim	19/09/2001	19/10/2001
    £0.164	Final	11/04/2001	09/05/2001
    £0.109	Interim	18/09/2000	20/10/2000
    £0.149	Final	03/04/2000	05/05/2000
    £0.099	Interim	20/09/1999	20/10/1999
    £0.136	Final	29/03/1999	07/05/1999
    £0.35	Special	27/04/1998	01/05/1998
    £0.089	Interim	21/09/1998	21/10/1998
    £0.1175	Final	09/03/1998	29/04/1998

  Currently 2.56% of Provident Financial shares are held by insiders and 83.953% by institutions.

• How many people work for Provident Financial?

  Latest data suggests 2,535 work at Provident Financial.

• When does the fiscal year end for Provident Financial?

  Provident Financial's fiscal year ends in December.

• Where is Provident Financial based?

  Provident Financial's address is: No. 1 Godwin Street, Bradford, United Kingdom, BD1 2SU

• What is Provident Financial's ISIN number?

  Provident Financial's international securities identification number is: GB00B1Z4ST84

• How to sell Provident Financial shares

  It's as easy to sell Provident Financial as it is to buy! Here's how to sell Provident Financial that you already own.

  1. Open your investment app. If you've got one with desktop access, you can log in online
  2. Go to your portfolio. This should be in the main menu
  3. Find your shares. You may be able to search your portfolio
  4. Choose how many you'd like to sell. You'll be able to review the price and see how much you'll receive
  5. Sell your Provident Financial shares. Your investment platform will let you know when your shares are sold

• Can you buy Provident Financial shares with a debit card?

  Most share dealing providers in the UK will let you use your debit card to top up your account and buy shares. The main ways are with a debit card, bank transfer or with Apple/Google Pay.

• What's the easiest way to buy Provident Financial shares?

  The easiest way to get hold of some Provident Financial shares is to sign up for a share trading app and place a market order or basic order. This type of order tells the platform that you're interested, so it'll try to execute it as quickly as it can. It could take some time for the order to go through, especially if there's a lot of volatility in Provident Financial shares.

• Do you need to complete a W8-BEN form if you want to invest in Provident Financial

  If you're investing in a US stock, you'll need to complete a W8-BEN form to minimise your tax liability. Whether these are automatically handled for you depends on your broker, so it would be a good idea to check with them directly.

• What is the key financial information for Provident Financial?

  Financials

  Revenue TTM	£446.5 million
  Operating margin TTM	33.66%
  Gross profit TTM	£160.3 million
  Return on assets TTM	4.14%
  Return on equity TTM	17.19%
  Profit margin	8.73%
  Book value	2.397p
  Market capitalisation	£571.2 million

  TTM: trailing 12 months