Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) Short Interest Up 78.2% in June

Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNYGet Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,920,176 shares, a growth of 78.2% from the June 15th total of 1,077,701 shares. Approximately 3.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 939,622 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KRNY. Weiss Ratings cut Kearny Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Kearny Financial from $9.50 to $10.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Kearny Financial to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.50.

Check Out Our Latest Report on Kearny Financial

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Melvina Wong-Zaza purchased 3,500 shares of Kearny Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 in the company, valued at $290,608.70. The trade was a 11.51% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Curtland E. Fields acquired 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $8.41 per share, for a total transaction of $30,276.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 43,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $363,312. This trade represents a 9.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders acquired 24,800 shares of company stock worth $211,196 over the last quarter. 7.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kearny Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KRNY. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted 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 valued at $11,952,000 after acquiring an additional 1,339,062 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Kearny Financial by 373.7% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kearny Financial by 36.4% in the 4th 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. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Kearny Financial by 402.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 214,681 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,410,000 after purchasing an additional 171,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp bought a new stake in shares of Kearny Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,145,000. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Kearny Financial Price Performance

KRNY traded down $0.19 on Friday, reaching $9.50. The company had a trading volume of 490,141 shares, compared to its average volume of 653,998. The company has a market capitalization of $615.03 million, a P/E ratio of 16.67 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $8.67 and a 200-day moving average of $8.09. Kearny Financial has a one year low of $5.76 and a one year high of $9.76.

Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNYGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15. The company had revenue of $44.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.67 million. Kearny Financial had a net margin of 10.39% and a return on equity of 4.61%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Kearny Financial will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Kearny Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. Kearny Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.19%.

Kearny Financial Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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