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

Shares of Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday following insider buying activity. The stock traded as high as $8.89 and last traded at $8.8340, with a volume of 35971 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.79.

Specifically, Director Melvina Wong-Zaza bought 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.57 per share, with a total value of $29,995.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 33,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $290,608.70. The trade was a 11.51% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Curtland E. Fields bought 4,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.61 per share, for a total transaction of $41,328.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 29,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $255,717. This represents a 19.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In related news, Director Curtland E. Fields purchased 3,000 shares of Kearny Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.40 per share, for a total transaction of $25,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 24,900 shares in the company, valued at $209,160. This trade represents a 13.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on KRNY. Zacks Research upgraded Kearny Financial to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings cut Kearny Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Kearny Financial in a report on Monday, April 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $9.50 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.50.

Kearny Financial Stock Down 0.2%

The company has a market cap of $568.16 million, a PE ratio of 15.42 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $8.10 and a 200-day moving average of $7.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.15. The business had revenue of $44.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.67 million. Kearny Financial had a return on equity of 4.61% and a net margin of 10.39%. Sell-side analysts predict that Kearny Financial will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kearny Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Kearny Financial’s payout ratio is presently 77.19%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KRNY. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Kearny Financial by 8.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 729,773 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $4,568,000 after purchasing an additional 54,606 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in shares of Kearny Financial in the 1st quarter worth $146,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Kearny Financial by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 181,165 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,134,000 after buying an additional 14,427 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of Kearny Financial by 95.0% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 152,595 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $955,000 after buying an additional 74,349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Kearny Financial by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 89,669 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 4,340 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kearny Financial Company Profile

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.