Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) Trading 0.7% Higher – What’s Next?

Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) rose 0.7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $17.02 and last traded at $16.86. Approximately 115,461 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 6% from the average daily volume of 108,783 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CLBK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Columbia Financial in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Columbia Financial from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Columbia Financial currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $17.00.

Columbia Financial Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 110.13 and a beta of 0.25. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.02. Columbia Financial had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 4.36%. The company had revenue of $67.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.20 million. Research analysts expect that Columbia Financial will post 0.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Financial announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, September 8th that permits the company to buyback $1.80 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 0.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning grew its position in Columbia Financial by 132.0% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 121,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,764,000 after buying an additional 69,171 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in Columbia Financial by 39.2% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 20,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 5,892 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Columbia Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $353,000. CW Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Columbia Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $1,095,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Financial during the 1st quarter worth $1,362,000. Institutional investors own 12.72% of the company’s stock.

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.