Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $20.66 and last traded at $20.60, with a volume of 9149 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.36.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on CLBK shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Columbia Financial from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Columbia Financial in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. Brean Capital cut shares of Columbia Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $19.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Columbia Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.50.

Columbia Financial Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.36 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a 50-day moving average of $18.45 and a 200-day moving average of $17.26.

Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.01). Columbia Financial had a return on equity of 5.12% and a net margin of 10.91%.The firm had revenue of $67.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.10 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Columbia Financial will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Columbia Financial by 0.5% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,054,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,842,000 after purchasing an additional 10,376 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Columbia Financial by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 926,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,396,000 after purchasing an additional 3,090 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Columbia Financial by 12.0% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 676,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,838,000 after purchasing an additional 72,334 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Columbia Financial by 52.0% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 184,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,774,000 after purchasing an additional 63,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Columbia Financial by 61.5% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 179,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,783,000 after purchasing an additional 68,162 shares during the last quarter. 12.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Columbia Financial

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.