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

Columbia Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLBK - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,030,000 shares, a decline of 8.6% from the January 15th total of 2,220,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 94,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 21.6 days. Currently, 7.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Columbia Financial Price Performance

CLBK traded down $0.24 on Friday, reaching $15.38. 131,123 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 104,324. The stock has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of -128.17 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $15.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.78. Columbia Financial has a twelve month low of $13.79 and a twelve month high of $19.28.

Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.04. Columbia Financial had a negative net margin of 2.39% and a positive return on equity of 2.20%. Sell-side analysts expect that Columbia Financial will post 0.43 EPS for the current year.

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Insider Transactions at Columbia Financial

In other Columbia Financial news, Director Noel R. Holland sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.06, for a total value of $170,600.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 30,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $520,347.06. This trade represents a 24.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.38% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Columbia Financial by 58.9% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 27,715 shares of the company's stock valued at $473,000 after acquiring an additional 10,270 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Columbia Financial by 132.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 49,452 shares of the company's stock worth $844,000 after acquiring an additional 28,147 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Columbia Financial by 214.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,747 shares of the company's stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 4,604 shares in the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Columbia Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $332,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Financial by 43.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 31,961 shares of the company's stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 9,663 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.72% of the company's stock.

About Columbia Financial

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.