Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Raymond James Financial upgraded the stock to a moderate buy rating. The stock traded as high as $9.98 and last traded at $9.9550, with a volume of 629940 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $9.84.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Kearny Financial from $9.50 to $10.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Kearny Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.75.

Insider Transactions at Kearny Financial

In related news, Director Melvina Wong-Zaza bought 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $8.57 per share, for a total transaction of $29,995.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 33,910 shares in the company, valued at $290,608.70. This trade represents a 11.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Curtland E. Fields purchased 14,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $9.41 per share, for a total transaction of $138,327.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 57,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $544,839. The trade was a 34.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 44,273 shares of company stock worth $394,676. Insiders own 7.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kearny Financial

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kearny Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $84,461,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Kearny Financial by 488.8% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 1,339,062 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Kearny Financial by 373.7% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 918,125 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $5,931,000 after buying an additional 724,297 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kearny Financial by 36.4% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 539,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Kearny Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,685,000. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kearny Financial Trading Down 1.9%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $637.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23 and a beta of 0.64.

Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $45.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.61 million. Kearny Financial had a return on equity of 4.90% and a net margin of 10.45%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kearny Financial will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.

Kearny Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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%.

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.