Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also commented on CLBK. Brean Capital lowered shares of 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Columbia Financial in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Columbia Financial in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.50.

Columbia Financial Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Columbia Financial stock opened at $20.70 on Friday. Columbia Financial has a 12-month low of $13.66 and a 12-month high of $21.19. 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 market cap of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of 37.64 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $19.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.76.

Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) last issued its 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 net margin of 10.91% and a return on equity of 5.12%. The company had revenue of $67.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.10 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Columbia Financial will post 0.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CLBK. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Columbia Financial by 297.5% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 146,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,128,000 after purchasing an additional 109,780 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Columbia Financial by 76.1% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 177,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,571,000 after acquiring an additional 76,560 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Columbia Financial by 12.0% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 676,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,838,000 after acquiring an additional 72,334 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Columbia Financial by 61.5% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 179,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,783,000 after acquiring an additional 68,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in Columbia Financial by 109.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 126,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,900,000 after acquiring an additional 66,238 shares during the last quarter. 12.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Columbia Financial

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.