Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Columbia Financial in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.50.

Columbia Financial Stock Up 2.0%

NASDAQ CLBK opened at $23.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. Columbia Financial has a 52 week low of $13.66 and a 52 week high of $24.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.58 and a beta of 0.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $20.53 and a 200-day moving average of $18.53.

Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $67.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.10 million. Columbia Financial had a net margin of 10.91% and a return on equity of 5.12%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Columbia Financial will post 0.74 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CLBK. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Columbia Financial by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Columbia Financial by 459.9% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 65,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $978,000 after purchasing an additional 53,537 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Columbia Financial by 32.5% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,444,000 after buying an additional 24,390 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Columbia Financial by 6.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 34,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $494,000 after buying an additional 1,992 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Financial by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 66,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $965,000 after buying an additional 4,080 shares in the last quarter. 12.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.