Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) Trading Up 2.3% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) shot up 2.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $15.60 and last traded at $15.57. 107,097 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 12% from the average session volume of 96,016 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CLBK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Columbia Financial from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Columbia Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Columbia Financial currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Columbia Financial Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business has a 50-day moving average of $15.88 and a 200-day moving average of $15.20. The company has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.00 and a beta of 0.23.

Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.02. Columbia Financial had a return on equity of 4.36% and a net margin of 2.96%.The business had revenue of $67.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.20 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Columbia Financial will post 0.43 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Columbia Financial by 2,322.2% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 2,508 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Financial during the third quarter worth $63,000. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Columbia Financial during the third quarter valued at $120,000. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Financial in the second quarter valued at about $141,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Financial during the third quarter worth about $153,000. 12.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Columbia Financial

Columbia Financial, Inc is the bank holding company for Columbia Bank, a commercial bank headquartered in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. Through its principal subsidiary, Columbia Bank, the company offers a comprehensive suite of retail and commercial banking products and services. These offerings include deposit accounts, consumer and mortgage lending, commercial real estate financing, and business banking solutions tailored to small- and medium-sized enterprises.

On the consumer side, Columbia Bank provides checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, home equity lines of credit, and residential mortgage loans.