Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Shares of Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . 2,768,897 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 42% from the previous session’s volume of 1,955,002 shares.The stock last traded at $11.0250 and had previously closed at $10.81.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Columbia Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Piper Sandler upgraded Columbia Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Columbia Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.50.

Columbia Financial Stock Up 5.0%

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.73 and a beta of 0.23.

Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter. Columbia Financial had a net margin of 11.19% and a return on equity of 5.29%. The business had revenue of $73.75 million during the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Columbia Financial will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Columbia Financial by 2,322.2% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 2,508 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Columbia Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $44,000. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in Columbia Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $120,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new position in Columbia Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $168,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Columbia Financial by 73.1% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 5,119 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 12.72% of the company’s stock.

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.