Kearny Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:KRNY) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Kearny Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:KRNY) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 427,700 shares, a growth of 8.0% from the October 31st total of 395,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 332,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Kearny Financial Price Performance

Kearny Financial stock opened at $8.14 on Tuesday. Kearny Financial has a one year low of $5.28 and a one year high of $9.46. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $7.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10. Kearny Financial had a positive return on equity of 3.05% and a negative net margin of 27.43%. The business had revenue of $87.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.16 EPS.

Kearny Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.41%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. Kearny Financial’s dividend payout ratio is -30.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kearny Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th.

Institutional Trading of Kearny Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of Kearny Financial by 122.3% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 22,023 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 12,116 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Kearny Financial by 9.1% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 23,015 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 1,911 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Kearny Financial by 152.6% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 131,428 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $808,000 after buying an additional 79,391 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Kearny Financial by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,813 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 2,560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kearny Financial by 101.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,419,996 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $8,733,000 after acquiring an additional 715,500 shares during the period. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.