Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $11.75 and last traded at $11.7950, with a volume of 2678132 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.65.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Columbia Financial Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.98. The stock has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of 35.15 and a beta of 0.23. 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 (NASDAQ:CLBK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Columbia Financial had a net margin of 11.19% and a return on equity of 5.29%. The firm had revenue of $73.75 million for the quarter. Equities analysts anticipate that Columbia Financial will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Columbia Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CLBK. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Columbia Financial by 2,322.2% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 2,508 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in Columbia Financial during the 1st quarter worth $44,000. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Columbia Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $120,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new position in shares of Columbia Financial in the fourth quarter worth $168,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Columbia Financial by 73.1% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 5,119 shares in the last quarter. 12.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Columbia Financial Company Profile

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.