Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) Sets New 52-Week High Following Insider Buying Activity

Key Points

• Kearny Financial shares reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $9.76 after director Curtland E. Fields purchased 14,700 shares worth approximately $138,327. The purchase increased his position by 34.03%.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with one Buy and two Hold ratings; the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $10.50. Piper Sandler raised its target to $10.50 and assigned an Overweight rating.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $0.15 per share, below the $0.17 consensus estimate, while revenue of $45.69 million slightly exceeded expectations. Kearny also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, representing a 4.6% annualized yield.

Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday following insider buying activity. The stock traded as high as $9.76 and last traded at $9.6550, with a volume of 330763 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.45.

Specifically, Director Curtland E. Fields bought 14,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $9.41 per share, with a total value of $138,327.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 57,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $544,839. This trade represents a 34.03% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KRNY has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Kearny Financial to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered Kearny Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Kearny Financial from $9.50 to $10.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $10.50.

Kearny Financial Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $624.42 million, a P/E ratio of 16.92 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $8.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.18.

Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.02). Kearny Financial had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 4.92%. The company had revenue of $45.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.61 million. On average, analysts expect that Kearny Financial will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Kearny Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. Kearny Financial's dividend payout ratio is 77.19%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KRNY. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 3,946 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Kearny Financial by 16.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 276,505 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $2,088,000 after buying an additional 39,036 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in Kearny Financial by 25.5% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 238,229 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $1,799,000 after buying an additional 48,350 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Kearny Financial by 6.0% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,437,222 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $10,851,000 after buying an additional 81,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in 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 worth $700,000 after buying an additional 48,759 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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