Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $18.29 and last traded at $18.5830, with a volume of 20439 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $16.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CLBK shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Columbia Financial in a report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Columbia Financial Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of 34.29 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $16.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.36.

Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15. Columbia Financial had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 4.73%. The business had revenue of $68.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.20 million. Equities analysts forecast that Columbia Financial will post 0.43 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Columbia Financial by 4.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Columbia Financial by 7.9% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 12,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 939 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Financial by 2.7% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 40,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $594,000 after buying an additional 1,086 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Columbia Financial by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 17,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Columbia Financial by 6.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 34,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 1,992 shares during the last quarter. 12.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.