Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $11.75 and last traded at $11.7950, with a volume of 2678132 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CLBK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Columbia Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings raised Columbia Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Columbia Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $19.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.50.

Columbia Financial Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.25 and a beta of 0.23. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.05.

Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $73.75 million for the quarter. Columbia Financial had a net margin of 11.19% and a return on equity of 5.29%. On average, analysts expect that Columbia Financial will post 0.33 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Columbia Financial by 2,322.2% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 2,508 shares during the period. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Columbia Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $120,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new stake in Columbia Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $168,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Columbia Financial by 73.1% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 5,119 shares during the last quarter. 12.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Columbia Financial Company Profile

Columbia Financial, Inc is the bank holding company for Columbia Bank, a commercial bank headquartered in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. Through its principal subsidiary, Columbia Bank, the company offers a comprehensive suite of retail and commercial banking products and services. These offerings include deposit accounts, consumer and mortgage lending, commercial real estate financing, and business banking solutions tailored to small- and medium-sized enterprises.

On the consumer side, Columbia Bank provides checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, home equity lines of credit, and residential mortgage loans.