Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $9.48, but opened at $8.92. Kearny Financial shares last traded at $9.0180, with a volume of 190,049 shares.

The savings and loans company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $45.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.61 million. Kearny Financial had a net margin of 10.39% and a return on equity of 4.61%.

Kearny Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Kearny Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.19%.

Key Kearny Financial News

Here are the key news stories impacting Kearny Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Kearny Financial declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.11 per share, which implies a 4.8% annualized yield and could appeal to income-focused investors.
• Neutral Sentiment: Fourth-quarter revenue came in at $45.69 million, slightly above analyst estimates, showing top-line performance was generally stable.
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted quarterly EPS of $0.15 missed the consensus estimate of $0.17, which is the key reason the stock is under pressure today. Kearny (KRNY) Q4 Earnings Lag Estimates

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Kearny Financial to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Kearny Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Kearny Financial from $9.50 to $10.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kearny Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kearny Financial news, Director Curtland E. Fields bought 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.41 per share, for a total transaction of $30,276.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 43,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $363,312. The trade was a 9.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Melvina Wong-Zaza purchased 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.57 per share, for a total transaction of $29,995.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 33,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $290,608.70. This represents a 11.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased 24,800 shares of company stock worth $211,196 in the last quarter. 7.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KRNY. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Kearny Financial by 103.4% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,753 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Kearny Financial by 11,688.6% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 4,126 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 4,091 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in shares of Kearny Financial by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 6,118 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 1,605 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kearny Financial by 119.5% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,248 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 3,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Kearny Financial by 59.4% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 8,585 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kearny Financial Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $590.43 million, a PE ratio of 16.00 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $8.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.15.

About Kearny Financial

Kearny Financial, Inc was the bank holding company for Kearny Bank, a New Jersey–based community bank offering a full suite of commercial and consumer banking services. Through its subsidiary, the company provided deposit products, lending facilities and electronic banking solutions to individuals, small businesses and middle-market corporations.

The company’s core products included checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential and commercial real estate loans, construction financing, equipment financing, home equity lines of credit and consumer installment loans.