Kearny Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:KRNY) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Kearny Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:KRNY) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 995,400 shares, a decline of 5.2% from the March 15th total of 1,050,000 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 449,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Kearny Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th.

Kearny Financial Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of KRNY opened at $5.63 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $362.80 million, a P/E ratio of 19.41 and a beta of 0.71. Kearny Financial has a 12 month low of $5.44 and a 12 month high of $9.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $6.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97.

Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The savings and loans company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $19.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.60 million. Kearny Financial had a net margin of 5.84% and a return on equity of 4.44%.

Kearny Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 6th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.82%. Kearny Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 151.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kearny Financial

In other Kearny Financial news, Director Melvina Wong-Zaza bought 3,945 shares of Kearny Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $6.47 per share, with a total value of $25,524.15. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,669.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Melvina Wong-Zaza bought 3,945 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $6.47 per share, for a total transaction of $25,524.15. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,669.65. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher Petermann bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $6.14 per share, for a total transaction of $61,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 56,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $344,693.46. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 15,945 shares of company stock worth $98,664. Company insiders own 8.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in Kearny Financial by 1,392.9% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 23,543 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 21,966 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Kearny Financial by 79.2% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 123,715 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,110,000 after acquiring an additional 54,669 shares during the last quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Kearny Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $275,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Kearny Financial by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 318,329 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $2,855,000 after purchasing an additional 12,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Kearny Financial by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 17,617 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 3,544 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

About Kearny Financial

Kearny Financial Corp. operates as the holding company for Kearny Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company offers various deposit products, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit accounts.