Columbia Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLBK) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Columbia Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLBK) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,300,000 shares, a decline of 7.3% from the May 31st total of 2,480,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 83,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 27.7 days. Currently, 8.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Columbia Financial Stock Performance

Columbia Financial stock traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $14.63. The stock had a trading volume of 40,565 shares, compared to its average volume of 81,636. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. Columbia Financial has a 52-week low of $13.79 and a 52-week high of $20.46. The company has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 91.44 and a beta of 0.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $15.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.66.

Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.04). Columbia Financial had a net margin of 3.70% and a return on equity of 3.06%. The firm had revenue of $49.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.40 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Columbia Financial will post 0.13 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Columbia Financial from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Columbia Financial by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,683,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,452,000 after purchasing an additional 56,155 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Columbia Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Financial by 101.0% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 16,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 8,216 shares in the last quarter. 12.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Columbia Financial Company Profile

Columbia Financial, Inc, a bank holding company, provides various financial services to businesses and consumers in the United States. Its deposit products include checking, interest-earning checking products and municipal, savings and club deposits, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.