Northfield Bancorp (NASDAQ:NFBK) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFBK)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $15.01 and last traded at $14.99, with a volume of 1155716 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.55.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Northfield Bancorp from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.50.

Northfield Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $14.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $625.98 million, a PE ratio of 124.92 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Northfield Bancorp (NASDAQ:NFBK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. Northfield Bancorp had a return on equity of 6.75% and a net margin of 1.77%.The firm had revenue of $40.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.60 million.

Northfield Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. Northfield Bancorp’s payout ratio is 433.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northfield Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of NFBK. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northfield Bancorp by 41.6% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,019 shares of the bank’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 887 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northfield Bancorp by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 19,613 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Northfield Bancorp by 29.9% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,479 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Northfield Bancorp by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 15,129 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $174,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Northfield Bancorp by 133.1% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,280 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,302 shares during the period. 65.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northfield Bancorp Company Profile

Northfield Bancorp is the bank holding company for Northfield Bank, a New Jersey‐based community bank offering a full range of financial products and services. Headquartered in New Jersey, the company serves individuals, families and small to mid‐sized businesses across Northern and Central New Jersey. Northfield Bancorp focuses on building lasting customer relationships through a combination of personalized service and technology‐driven solutions.

Through its subsidiary, Northfield Bank provides personal banking services such as checking and savings accounts, consumer loans, mortgage products and home equity lines of credit.