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

Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day 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 traded. The stock had previously closed at $8.37.

Specifically, Director Curtland E. Fields bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.40 per share, with a total value of $25,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 24,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $209,160. This represents a 13.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KRNY has been the topic of several recent research reports. 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 began coverage on Kearny Financial in a research note on Monday, April 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $9.50 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kearny Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $9.50.

Kearny Financial Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $547.38 million, a P/E ratio of 14.83 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick 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, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15. The business had revenue of $44.31 million during 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Kearny Financial will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Kearny Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. Kearny Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 77.19%.

Institutional Trading of Kearny Financial

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Kearny Financial by 119.5% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,248 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 3,946 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Kearny Financial by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 276,505 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $2,088,000 after purchasing an additional 39,036 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Kearny Financial by 25.5% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 238,229 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,799,000 after purchasing an additional 48,350 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Kearny Financial by 6.0% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,437,222 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $10,851,000 after buying an additional 81,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Kearny Financial by 110.8% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 92,759 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $700,000 after buying an additional 48,759 shares during the last quarter. 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.