Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 1,252,668 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the previous session’s volume of 1,590,969 shares.The stock last traded at $10.8050 and had previously closed at $10.94.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CLBK shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Columbia Financial in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Columbia Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Columbia Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.50.

Columbia Financial Stock Down 0.9%

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $20.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.55. The company has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.42 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $67.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.10 million. Columbia Financial had a return on equity of 5.12% and a net margin of 10.91%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Columbia Financial will post 0.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Columbia Financial by 8.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 48,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $848,000 after buying an additional 3,798 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in Columbia Financial by 7.1% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 55,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $976,000 after buying an additional 3,695 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Columbia Financial by 12.0% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 676,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,838,000 after acquiring an additional 72,334 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Columbia Financial by 2.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,040,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,734,000 after acquiring an additional 51,677 shares during the period. Finally, Numerai GP LLC acquired a new position in Columbia Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $327,000. Institutional investors own 12.72% of the company’s stock.

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.