Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) Trading 6.4% Higher Following Earnings Beat

Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK)’s stock price traded up 6.4% during trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $15.31 and last traded at $15.09. 31,925 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 128,317 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.18.

The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $67.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.20 million. Columbia Financial had a return on equity of 4.40% and a net margin of 2.96%.

Columbia Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, September 8th that permits the company to repurchase $1.80 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 0.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Columbia Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $16.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Columbia Financial by 79.1% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Columbia Financial by 4,061.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 2,518 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of Columbia Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $141,000. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Columbia Financial in the 1st quarter worth $152,000. Finally, Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP boosted its position in shares of Columbia Financial by 27.7% in the 2nd quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 15,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 3,274 shares during the last quarter. 12.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Columbia Financial Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.27 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $14.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.56.

Columbia Financial Company Profile

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.