Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) Reaches New 52-Week High After Insider Buying Activity

Key Points

• Kearny Financial shares hit a new 52-week high after insider buying, reaching as high as $8.89 intraday before closing near $8.83.
• Director Melvina Wong-Zaza bought 3,500 shares, while director Curtland E. Fields made two purchases totaling 7,800 shares, signaling notable insider confidence in the stock.
• Analysts currently rate the stock Hold on average with a $9.50 target price, and the company recently reported earnings in line with expectations along with a 5.0% dividend yield.

Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The company traded as high as $8.89 and last traded at $8.8340, with a volume of 35971 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.79.

Specifically, Director Melvina Wong-Zaza acquired 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Curtland E. Fields purchased 4,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.61 per share, for a total transaction of $41,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 29,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $255,717. This represents a 19.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In other news, Director Curtland E. Fields purchased 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.40 per share, for a total transaction of $25,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 can be accessed through this link.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Kearny Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday. Zacks Research raised Kearny Financial to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on Kearny Financial in a research report on Monday, April 27th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $9.50 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kearny Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $9.50.

Kearny Financial Trading Down 0.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $568.16 million, a PE ratio of 15.42 and a beta of 0.66. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $8.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.80.

Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.15. The company had revenue of $44.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.67 million. Kearny Financial had a net margin of 10.39% and a return on equity of 4.61%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kearny Financial will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Kearny Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. Kearny Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.19%.

Institutional Trading of Kearny Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its holdings in Kearny Financial by 488.8% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,612,987 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $11,952,000 after acquiring an additional 1,339,062 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Kearny Financial by 373.7% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 918,125 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $5,931,000 after purchasing an additional 724,297 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kearny Financial by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,023,294 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $14,993,000 after purchasing an additional 539,811 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kearny Financial in the third quarter worth about $1,583,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Kearny Financial by 402.0% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 214,681 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $1,410,000 after purchasing an additional 171,916 shares during the period. 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.

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