Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) Hits New 1-Year High Following Insider Buying Activity

Shares of Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday following insider buying activity. The company traded as high as $8.52 and last traded at $8.4920, with a volume of 42239 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.37.

Specifically, Director Curtland E. Fields purchased 3,000 shares of Kearny Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.40 per share, with a total value of $25,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 24,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $209,160. This represents a 13.70% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Kearny Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Zacks Research raised Kearny Financial to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Kearny Financial in a report on Monday, April 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $9.50 target price on the stock. 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 stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.50.

Kearny Financial Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.74. The stock has a market cap of $547.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.83 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15. The firm had revenue of $44.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.67 million. Kearny Financial had a return on equity of 4.61% and a net margin of 10.39%. Analysts expect that Kearny Financial will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kearny Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. Kearny Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kearny Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,753 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in Kearny Financial by 11,688.6% in the second 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 raised its position in 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 last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Kearny Financial by 119.5% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,248 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 3,946 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Kearny Financial by 59.4% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 8,585 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

About Kearny Financial

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.