Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 568,114 shares, a drop of 19.8% from the December 15th total of 708,511 shares. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 441,003 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days. Based on an average trading volume of 441,003 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kearny Financial in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Kearny Financial from $7.50 to $9.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KRNY. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Kearny Financial by 11,688.6% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 4,126 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 4,091 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Kearny Financial by 18,309.5% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,598 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 11,535 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in Kearny Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $76,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kearny Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $78,000. Finally, Man Group plc bought a new stake in Kearny Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $80,000. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kearny Financial Price Performance

Kearny Financial stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $7.86. 212,684 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 396,869. Kearny Financial has a 12-month low of $5.45 and a 12-month high of $7.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $7.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.76. The company has a market cap of $508.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.71 and a beta of 0.70.

Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15. The firm had revenue of $42.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.43 million. Kearny Financial had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 3.89%.

Kearny Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 5th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Kearny Financial’s payout ratio is currently 93.62%.

About Kearny Financial

Kearny Financial, Inc was the bank holding company for Kearny Bank, a New Jersey–based community bank offering a full suite of commercial and consumer banking services. Through its subsidiary, the company provided deposit products, lending facilities and electronic banking solutions to individuals, small businesses and middle-market corporations.

The company’s core products included checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential and commercial real estate loans, construction financing, equipment financing, home equity lines of credit and consumer installment loans.