Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) Sets New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Kearny Financial shares reached a new 52-week high of $9.76 and recently traded around $9.75, up 1.8%, with the stock’s moving averages also trending higher.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the consensus rating is “Hold” from three analysts, despite Piper Sandler raising its price target to $10.50. The company also missed quarterly EPS estimates, reporting $0.15 versus the expected $0.17.
• Kearny Financial declared a quarterly dividend of $0.11, equivalent to a 4.5% yield, while insiders bought 39,500 shares worth about $349,524 over the past 90 days.

Shares of Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $9.76 and last traded at $9.7450, with a volume of 273439 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.59.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Kearny Financial from $9.50 to $10.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Kearny Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Kearny Financial to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.50.

Kearny Financial Trading Up 1.8%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $8.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.23. The stock has a market cap of $632.19 million, a P/E ratio of 17.15 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Kearny Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Kearny Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Curtland E. Fields acquired 14,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $9.41 per share, for a total transaction of $138,327.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 57,900 shares in the company, valued at $544,839. This represents a 34.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Melvina Wong-Zaza bought 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.57 per share, for a total transaction of $29,995.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 33,910 shares of the company's stock, valued at $290,608.70. This trade represents a 11.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have purchased a total of 39,500 shares of company stock valued at $349,524 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.44% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Kearny Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of KRNY. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kearny Financial by 103.4% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,753 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in Kearny Financial by 11,688.6% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 4,126 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 4,091 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in Kearny Financial by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 6,118 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 1,605 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kearny Financial by 119.5% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,248 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 3,946 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in Kearny Financial by 59.4% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 8,585 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company's stock.

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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