Short Interest in Kearny Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:KRNY) Expands By 35.7%

Kearny Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:KRNY) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 675,300 shares, a growth of 35.7% from the March 15th total of 497,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 343,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Kearny Financial Price Performance

Shares of KRNY traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $5.92. 329,387 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 384,739. The stock has a market capitalization of $382.31 million, a PE ratio of -5.24 and a beta of 0.70. Kearny Financial has a fifty-two week low of $5.28 and a fifty-two week high of $8.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.06.

Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.02). Kearny Financial had a negative net margin of 20.05% and a positive return on equity of 3.31%.

Kearny Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.43%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. Kearny Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently -38.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Melvina Wong-Zaza purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $7.23 per share, with a total value of $36,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 27,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,078.05. The trade was a 22.19 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 8.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kearny Financial

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KRNY. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Kearny Financial by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 428,421 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $2,944,000 after acquiring an additional 88,771 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in Kearny Financial by 116.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 127,433 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $875,000 after purchasing an additional 68,473 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Kearny Financial by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 57,506 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,576 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Kearny Financial by 161.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 239,689 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,647,000 after buying an additional 147,892 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Kearny Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $184,000. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Piper Sandler raised shares of Kearny Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $9.00 to $8.50 in a report on Monday, January 6th.

About Kearny Financial

Kearny Financial Corp. operates as the holding company for Kearny Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. It offers various deposit products, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit accounts.