Short Interest in Columbia Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLBK) Declines By 8.6%

Columbia Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLBK) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,030,000 shares, a drop of 8.6% from the January 15th total of 2,220,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 94,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 21.6 days. Currently, 7.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Noel R. Holland sold 10,000 shares of Columbia Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.06, for a total transaction of $170,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $520,347.06. This trade represents a 24.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $114,000. FMR LLC raised its position in Columbia Financial by 214.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 4,604 shares during the period. Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Columbia Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $165,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD acquired a new position in Columbia Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $168,000. 12.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Columbia Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CLBK traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $15.90. The company had a trading volume of 84,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 104,328. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of -132.53 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $15.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.81. Columbia Financial has a 1-year low of $13.79 and a 1-year high of $19.28.

Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.04. Columbia Financial had a positive return on equity of 2.20% and a negative net margin of 2.39%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Columbia Financial will post 0.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Financial Company Profile

Columbia Financial, Inc, a bank holding company, provides various financial services to businesses and consumers in the United States. Its deposit products include checking, interest-earning checking products and municipal, savings and club deposits, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.