Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) saw a large increase in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 19,995,956 shares, an increase of 353.8% from the July 15th total of 4,406,616 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 14,044,754 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Approximately 9.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler upgraded Columbia Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $19.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Columbia Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Columbia Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.50.

Columbia Financial Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:CLBK traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $11.81. 3,999,574 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,087,685. Columbia Financial has a twelve month low of $6.21 and a twelve month high of $11.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The business has a 50-day moving average of $17.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.05. The company has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.22 and a beta of 0.23.

Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Columbia Financial had a return on equity of 5.29% and a net margin of 11.19%.The firm had revenue of $73.75 million for the quarter. On average, equities analysts predict that Columbia Financial will post 0.33 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Columbia Financial by 2,322.2% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 2,508 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Financial during the first quarter worth $44,000. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Financial during the third quarter worth $120,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new position in Columbia Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $168,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Columbia Financial by 73.1% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,000 after buying an additional 5,119 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.