Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) Raised to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Columbia Financial in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.50.

Columbia Financial Stock Performance

Shares of CLBK stock opened at $23.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.58 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. Columbia Financial has a one year low of $13.66 and a one year high of $24.09. The company’s 50-day moving average is $20.53 and its 200 day moving average is $18.55.

Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) last issued its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.10 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Columbia Financial will post 0.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Columbia Financial by 2,322.2% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 2,508 shares during the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Columbia Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $120,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new position in shares of Columbia Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $168,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Financial by 73.1% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 5,119 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Financial by 7.9% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 12,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,000 after buying an additional 939 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 12.72% of the company’s stock.

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.