Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $9.76 and last traded at $9.7450, with a volume of 273439 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Kearny Financial to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Kearny Financial from $9.50 to $10.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Kearny Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.50.

Kearny Financial Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $630.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.09 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $9.02 and a 200-day moving average of $8.26.

Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.02). Kearny Financial had a return on equity of 4.92% and a net margin of 10.45%.The company had revenue of $45.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.61 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kearny Financial will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kearny Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Kearny Financial’s payout ratio is 77.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Melvina Wong-Zaza acquired 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.57 per share, with a total value of $29,995.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 33,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $290,608.70. The trade was a 11.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Curtland E. Fields bought 14,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $9.41 per share, for a total transaction of $138,327.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 57,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $544,839. This trade represents a 34.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders bought a total of 39,500 shares of company stock valued at $349,524 over the last three months. Company insiders own 7.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kearny Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Kearny Financial by 103.4% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,753 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,091 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in shares of Kearny Financial by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 6,118 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Kearny Financial by 119.5% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,248 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 3,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Kearny Financial by 59.4% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 8,585 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Kearny Financial Company Profile

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.