Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) Hits New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Kearny Financial shares reached a new 52-week high of $9.98, rising 1.3% to around $9.96. Analysts remain generally positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $10.75.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.15, missing estimates of $0.17, while revenue of $45.69 million slightly exceeded expectations. Analysts project full-year EPS of approximately $0.80.
• Kearny Financial declared a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, equivalent to a 4.4% annualized yield; insiders purchased shares recently, and institutional investors own 71.01% of the stock.

Shares of Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $9.98 and last traded at $9.9550, with a volume of 629940 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $9.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KRNY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Kearny Financial in a report on Wednesday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $11.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Kearny Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $10.75.

Kearny Financial Trading Up 1.3%

The firm has a market cap of $647.03 million, a P/E ratio of 17.48 and a beta of 0.64. The business's 50 day moving average is $9.43 and its 200-day moving average is $8.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $45.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.61 million. Kearny Financial had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 4.90%. As a group, analysts forecast that Kearny Financial will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kearny Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Kearny Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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, with a total value of $138,327.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Melvina Wong-Zaza acquired 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $8.57 per share, with a total value of $29,995.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director 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 disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders bought 44,273 shares of company stock worth $394,676. Corporate insiders own 7.44% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kearny Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $84,461,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Kearny Financial by 4.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,348,893 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $22,002,000 after acquiring an additional 133,683 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 539,811 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its stake in Kearny Financial by 488.8% in the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,612,987 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $11,952,000 after acquiring an additional 1,339,062 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Kearny Financial by 6.0% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,437,222 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $10,851,000 after purchasing an additional 81,050 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.

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