Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CLBK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Brean Capital lowered 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. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Columbia Financial in a research note on Monday, March 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Columbia Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Columbia Financial from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.50.

Columbia Financial Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.16 and a beta of 0.24. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.33.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Columbia Financial by 2,322.2% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 2,508 shares during the period. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Columbia Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $120,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $153,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $168,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of Columbia Financial by 73.1% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,000 after buying an additional 5,119 shares during the last quarter. 12.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Columbia Financial Company Profile

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.