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

Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $8.91 and last traded at $8.8450, with a volume of 68579 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KRNY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Kearny Financial in a research note on Monday, April 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $9.50 target price for the company. Zacks Research raised shares of Kearny Financial to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Kearny Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.50.

Kearny Financial Stock Up 2.1%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $8.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.88. 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 has a market cap of $582.34 million, a PE ratio of 15.75 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Kearny Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Kearny Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Kearny Financial by 103.4% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,753 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake 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 increased its stake 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 raised its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.