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

Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $9.66 and last traded at $9.4250, with a volume of 645435 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.37.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on KRNY shares. Weiss Ratings raised Kearny Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Kearny Financial from $9.50 to $10.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Kearny Financial to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.50.

Kearny Financial Price Performance

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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $8.46 and its 200-day moving average is $8.00. The company has a market cap of $602.73 million, a PE ratio of 16.33 and a beta of 0.64.

Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.15. The business had revenue of $44.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.67 million. Kearny Financial had a net margin of 10.39% and a return on equity of 4.61%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Kearny Financial will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Kearny Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 6th. Kearny Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.19%.

Insider Activity at Kearny Financial

In other news, Director Curtland E. Fields acquired 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.41 per share, with a total value of $30,276.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 43,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $363,312. This represents a 9.09% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Melvina Wong-Zaza bought 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.57 per share, for a total transaction of $29,995.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 33,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $290,608.70. This represents a 11.51% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have purchased 24,800 shares of company stock worth $211,196 over the last 90 days. 7.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kearny Financial by 4.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,348,893 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $22,002,000 after purchasing an additional 133,683 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Kearny Financial by 36.4% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,023,294 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $14,993,000 after buying an additional 539,811 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in Kearny Financial by 488.8% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,612,987 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $11,952,000 after buying an additional 1,339,062 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Kearny Financial by 6.0% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,437,222 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $10,851,000 after buying an additional 81,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Kearny Financial by 2.3% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,206,855 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $7,796,000 after acquiring an additional 27,460 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.