Kearny Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:KRNY) Short Interest Up 35.7% in March

Kearny Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:KRNY - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 675,300 shares, an increase of 35.7% from the March 15th total of 497,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 343,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Kearny Financial from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $9.00 to $8.50 in a research note on Monday, January 6th.

Kearny Financial Trading Up 4.3 %

KRNY traded up $0.26 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $6.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 38,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 382,919. Kearny Financial has a twelve month low of $5.28 and a twelve month high of $8.59. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $6.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $410.73 million, a PE ratio of -5.63 and a beta of 0.70.

Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.02). Kearny Financial had a positive return on equity of 3.31% and a negative net margin of 20.05%.

Kearny Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.92%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. Kearny Financial's payout ratio is currently -38.94%.

Insider Transactions at Kearny Financial

In other news, Director Melvina Wong-Zaza acquired 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $7.23 per share, with a total value of $36,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 27,535 shares of the company's stock, valued at $199,078.05. This trade represents a 22.19 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 8.56% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Kearny Financial

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Kearny Financial during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Kearny Financial by 119.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,355 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 3,461 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Kearny Financial by 40.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,495 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 2,445 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in Kearny Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Finally, Mariner LLC acquired a new position in Kearny Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

About Kearny Financial

Kearny Financial Corp. operates as the holding company for Kearny Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. It offers various deposit products, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit accounts.