Exploring Kearny Financial Corp. (KRNY) Investor Profile: Who’s Buying and Why?

You're looking at Kearny Financial Corp. (KRNY) and asking the right question: why are the big players moving on a regional bank with a $7.65 billion balance sheet? It's not about high-octane growth; it's a deep-value, income-focused play, pure and simple. We've seen institutional investors, like BlackRock, Inc. and The Vanguard Group, Inc., collectively scoop up an ownership stake of around 71%, with BlackRock alone holding over 8.3 million shares as of mid-2025. This kind of concentration tells you the smart money sees a serious disconnect between price and intrinsic value, especially when the stock is trading at a Price-to-Book (P/B) ratio of just 0.57-meaning you're buying a dollar of assets for only 57 cents. Plus, the stock offers a notable dividend yield of 6.79%, which is defintely a draw in a volatile market. But to be fair, the realist in me sees the near-term risk: nonperforming assets did climb to $64.6 million, or 0.84% of total assets in the most recent quarter. So, who's buying? Value investors chasing a high yield and betting the improving Net Interest Margin (NIM) of 2.10% can outrun the credit quality concerns.

Who Invests in Kearny Financial Corp. (KRNY) and Why?

You're looking at Kearny Financial Corp. (KRNY), a regional bank, and trying to figure out who's actually buying this stock and what their game plan is. The quick answer is that this is a stock overwhelmingly owned by big money-specifically, institutional investors-who are primarily focused on its deep value and its surprisingly high dividend yield.

As of late 2025, institutional investors control the lion's share, owning roughly 71.01% of the company's stock. This means the trading decisions of a few large firms can really move the price. The rest is split between the general public, who hold about 24.44%, and company insiders, who own a smaller but still significant 7.44%. That's a massive institutional weighting for a company with a market capitalization around $405 million.

The Institutional Heavyweights: Who's in Control?

When you see institutional ownership this high, it tells you two things: first, the stock is liquid enough for large funds, and second, it fits the quantitative screens of major asset managers. These aren't just hedge funds; they are the biggest names in the asset management world, often investing passively through index funds or actively in value strategies.

The top holders are a who's-who of global finance. Blackrock, Inc. is the largest institutional shareholder, holding approximately 8,335,844 shares, valued at over $55.93 million. Other significant players include Dimensional Fund Advisors LP, Vanguard Group Inc., and Renaissance Technologies LLC. This mix of passive giants (Vanguard, Blackrock) and active managers (Renaissance, T. Rowe Price) suggests a dual investment thesis: it's both a cheap, index-eligible stock and an active value play.

• Blackrock, Inc.: 12.87% ownership.
• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP: 5.50% ownership.
• Vanguard Group Inc.: 4.97% ownership.
• Renaissance Technologies LLC: 4.63% ownership.

Investment Motivations: The Deep Value and High Yield Play

The primary attraction to Kearny Financial Corp. in the 2025 fiscal year boils down to two factors: a compelling value proposition and a substantial income stream.

1. The Income Magnet (Dividend): For many investors, especially those in retirement funds, the yield is the main draw. Kearny Financial Corp. pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share, translating to a current dividend yield in the range of 6.61% to 7.03%. That's a serious income generator, especially compared to the average bank stock. The payout ratio is high at over 93% of trailing earnings, which is a bit of a yellow flag, but management has defintely shown a commitment to rewarding shareholders.

2. The Deep Value Discount: The stock trades at a deep discount to its book value. Its Price-to-Book (P/B) Ratio is sitting at just 0.57. Here's the quick math: you are essentially paying only 57 cents for every dollar of the bank's net assets. The Price-to-Earnings (P/E) Ratio is also low, around 11.7, which is cheaper than the Finance sector average of about 21.56. This is a classic value investor's setup.

3. Growth Prospects (The Catalyst): The bullish argument for growth is that the bank is projected to see a return to positive earnings per share (EPS) growth of about 6% in 2025, accelerating to 12% in 2026. This is expected to be fueled by an expanding net interest margin (NIM) as higher-cost deposits mature and new loans are priced higher. What this estimate hides, however, is the risk from a shrinking NIM (currently around 1.8%) and lowered loan growth forecasts of only +2.6% for the fiscal year.

Investment Strategies: Value, Income, and a Contrarian Bet

Given the ownership structure and the financial metrics, the investment strategies are clear and mostly long-term oriented.

Value Investing: This is the dominant theme. Investors like Dimensional Fund Advisors LP are buying because the P/B ratio is so low. They are betting that the market has overreacted to the bank's recent challenges and that the stock will eventually revert to a P/B closer to 1.0, or that the bank will be acquired at a premium to its current price. This is a classic 'buy-the-turnaround' play in the regional banking sector. You're buying a dollar for 57 cents.

Income and Long-Term Holding: For the passive funds like Vanguard, and for many retail investors, the stock is a long-term hold for its high, steady quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share. The dividend yield is higher than 75% of all dividend-paying stocks, making it a leading income payer. This strategy is less about capital appreciation and more about consistent cash flow.

Short-Term Trading/Contrarian: The high institutional ownership and the stock's volatility (52-week range of $5.45 to $8.55) create opportunities for short-term traders and hedge funds. They might trade around earnings reports, which have shown volatility, or bet on the outcome of the bank's shift to an offensive growth strategy. The analyst consensus is a 'Hold,' which often attracts contrarian investors looking for an overlooked stock since 2023.

To understand the foundation of these strategies, you should review the bank's long-term objectives: Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Kearny Financial Corp. (KRNY).

Institutional Ownership and Major Shareholders of Kearny Financial Corp. (KRNY)

The short answer is that Kearny Financial Corp. (KRNY) is overwhelmingly controlled by large institutional money managers, which is typical for a regional bank with a market capitalization of around $412 million as of late 2025. Institutional investors own approximately 71.01% of the company's stock, making their decisions the primary driver of its valuation and strategic direction.

This high level of institutional ownership signals that professional analysts have done their homework and see a compelling, albeit complex, value proposition in the stock, especially given its annualized dividend yield of 6.9%.

Top Institutional Investors: Who's Buying the Bank?

When you look at the shareholder roster, you see the usual suspects-the giants of passive and active money management. These firms hold KRNY not just for potential capital appreciation but often for its steady dividend income and its inclusion in various small-cap and regional banking indices. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, the top institutional holders reflect this trend, with BlackRock, Inc. leading the pack.

Here's the quick math on the largest holders based on their Q2 2025 filings:

BlackRock's stake alone is substantial, holding nearly 13% of all outstanding common stock. This concentration means a few major players can exert significant influence, which is why monitoring their trading activity is defintely crucial.

Recent Shifts: Have Investors Increased or Decreased Their Stakes?

Institutional buying and selling activity in Kearny Financial Corp. has been mixed, indicating a lack of clear consensus on the near-term outlook, which is common in the regional banking space right now. We've seen significant stake increases by smaller funds, often a sign of conviction in a turnaround or deep value play, contrasted with some trimming by the largest index-tracking funds.

For example, in the first half of 2025, a few firms made aggressive moves:

• White Pine Capital LLC boosted its position by a massive 123.5% in Q2 2025, acquiring an additional 95,271 shares.
• GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its stake by 247.5% in Q1 2025, adding over 106,855 shares.

But still, the largest holders were not uniformly bullish. BlackRock, Inc. actually reduced its holdings by 3.561% as of June 30, 2025, and State Street Corp. cut its position by over 254,000 shares. This suggests that while smaller, active funds are betting on the stock's operational improvements-like the recent Q1 2026 earnings of $9.5 million-the massive passive funds are making minor adjustments, likely tied to index rebalancing.

The Impact of Institutional Investors on Strategy and Stock Price

With institutions owning over 71% of Kearny Financial Corp., their collective behavior dictates the stock's liquidity and price stability. Their large positions mean the stock price is inherently vulnerable to their trading decisions, especially if a few major holders decide to sell simultaneously-a classic risk in a crowded trade.

More importantly, these investors play a direct role in corporate strategy. The recent focus on operational efficiency, including the partnership with The Lab Consulting to implement robotic process automation and AI-enabled document processing, is a strategic move that large institutional shareholders would have strongly supported. This focus on cost-saving technology is a clear action to improve the net interest margin (NIM), which saw a 10 basis point improvement to 2.00% in Q4 2025.

The market's willingness to give KRNY a premium valuation-it trades at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peer group-is a vote of confidence from these institutions in the core business's resilience and the management's new direction, even if future growth remains a watchpoint. They are buying the turnaround story, which you can read more about in our deep dive on the company's core principles: Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Kearny Financial Corp. (KRNY).

Next step: Dig into the latest SEC filings to see which funds are adding to their positions in Q3 2025 and why.

Key Investors and Their Impact on Kearny Financial Corp. (KRNY)

The investor profile for Kearny Financial Corp. (KRNY) is dominated by institutional money, which holds the majority of the stock and, frankly, calls the shots. With institutional investors owning roughly 71.01% of the company, their collective decisions on buying, selling, or governance are what truly move the needle for KRNY's stock price and long-term strategy.

This high institutional ownership signals a strong, if cautious, market trust in the company's stability as a regional bank, particularly given its history dating back to 1884. You're not seeing a lot of wild-card retail speculation here; you're seeing large, methodical funds looking for stable returns and a solid dividend yield, which stood at about 6.9% as of late 2025.

The Big Three: Funds Driving the Ownership Structure

When you look at the shareholder register, the names are exactly what you'd expect: the giants of asset management. These funds hold massive, passive stakes, meaning their influence is generally felt through proxy votes on governance issues like director elections and executive compensation, not daily trading. They are the bedrock of the stock's stability.

Here's a quick look at the top institutional holders and their reported holdings, based on the most recent filings available in 2025:

Blackrock Inc. is the largest single shareholder, and their 12.87% stake means they have a significant voice in corporate actions. This isn't an activist stake, but it's a powerful one. For more on the bank's history and structure, you can read Kearny Financial Corp. (KRNY): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money.

Investor Influence: Governance and Strategic Shifts

The primary influence of these large investors is governance. When institutions own 71% of the stock, management is defintely listening to their concerns about capital allocation and operational efficiency.

For example, the annual meeting in October 2025 saw shareholders elect a new slate of directors and ratify the independent auditor, Crowe LLP, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026. These votes, while often routine, are backed by the massive voting power of the institutional blocks. The high concentration of ownership-with the top nine shareholders holding 50% of the business-means that a few key meetings among portfolio managers can strongly influence board decisions.

The board itself saw a significant, albeit non-activist, restructuring in January 2025, reducing its size from 14 to 12 members following a director's passing and another's retirement. This kind of board streamlining can be a quiet win for institutional investors who often push for smaller, more efficient boards.

Recent Moves: Momentum and Insider Confidence

The most compelling recent investor activity shows a clear, positive momentum shift in 2025, suggesting some funds see a value play here, especially after the company's strong turnaround in the 2025 fiscal year. The company reported net income of $26.1 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025, a huge reversal from the net loss of $86.7 million in the prior year.

• Aggressive Buying by Smaller Funds: White Pine Capital LLC boosted its position by a substantial 123.5% in Q2 2025. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its stake by an even more aggressive 247.5% in Q1 2025. This isn't just passive indexing; this is conviction buying.
• Insider Confidence: Corporate insiders have been net buyers over the last three months, acquiring more stock than they sold. Director Melvina Wong-Zaza, for instance, acquired 1,500 shares in August 2025 for $8,988. This insider buying is a strong signal that the people who know the business best believe the stock is undervalued.
• Net Interest Margin Expansion: Investor confidence is likely tied to the bank's improving financials, with the net interest margin expanding to 2.00% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025.

Here's the quick math: The institutional buying is a vote of confidence that KRNY's strategic shifts-like the focus on operational efficiency and net interest margin expansion-are working. The stock trades near $6.37 with a market capitalization of $412 million, and the consensus analyst target is higher at $7.75. The buyers are betting on that gap closing.

Market Impact and Investor Sentiment

You're looking at Kearny Financial Corp. (KRNY) and seeing a stock with a Hold consensus rating, but the underlying investor activity tells a more nuanced story: institutional money is still flowing in, suggesting a quiet confidence in the bank's turnaround. The sentiment is best described as cautiously positive, shifting from outright bearishness following the company's return to profitability in the fiscal year (FY) 2025. This is not a high-growth play; it's a value-and-income proposition with clear near-term risks.

Institutional investors control the vast majority of the company, holding approximately 71.01% of the stock. This high concentration means that a few large players can defintely influence the stock price with their trading decisions. When big funds like Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (5.26% ownership) and Vanguard Group Inc. (5.17% ownership) hold core positions, it signals that the stock is considered a stable, if not spectacular, component of broader investment strategies.

The real conviction, however, is coming from the buying activity. Several institutional funds have been actively increasing their stakes; for example, White Pine Capital LLC boosted its position by a massive 123.5% in the second quarter of 2025. Plus, insiders are placing their own bets, which is always a strong signal. Director Leopold W. Montanaro purchased 10,000 shares in September 2025, a transaction valued at $65,700.00. Insider buying is a powerful indicator that management believes the stock is undervalued.

• Institutional Ownership: 71.01% of shares.
• Insider Ownership: 7.44% of shares.
• Recent Insider Buy: 10,000 shares in September 2025.

Recent Market Reactions to Ownership Shifts

The stock market has responded to Kearny Financial Corp.'s improved fundamentals, especially the shift back to positive earnings. The company reported a net income of $26.1 million, or $0.42 per diluted share, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025, a significant reversal from the prior year's net loss. This financial stability has helped the share price recently climb above its 200-day moving average, a key technical indicator that suggests momentum is turning positive.

The market capitalization sits around $412 million (as of November 2025). The stock trades at a compelling Price-to-Book (P/B) ratio of just 0.57, meaning the stock is priced at a substantial discount to its tangible book value of $9.77 per share. This deep discount is what attracts value-focused institutional investors, even with the inherent risks in the regional banking sector. The dividend yield is also a major draw, currently sitting at a high 6.9% based on the annualized dividend of $0.44 per share.

Here's the quick math on the valuation tension:

The stock's valuation is cheap on a book value basis, but the market is still cautious. Check out the Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Kearny Financial Corp. (KRNY) to understand the long-term strategic direction that is driving some of this institutional confidence.

Analyst Perspectives on Key Investor Influence

Wall Street analysts have a consensus Hold rating with a target price of $7.75, but their commentary highlights the impact of the new, more profitable narrative. The core of the bullish argument is the bank's operational improvements-specifically, the expansion of its net interest margin and the strong credit performance, with net charge-offs throughout FY 2025 being less than 0.05%.

What this estimate hides is the risk tied to the dividend. While the high yield is what keeps many income-focused institutions invested, the dividend payout ratio is extremely high at 93.62% of GAAP earnings for FY 2025. Analysts are flagging this as a major watchpoint; any slip in earnings could force a dividend cut, which would likely trigger a sharp sell-off from income-dependent shareholders. The institutional ownership is a double-edged sword: it provides stability, but if a few major funds decide the dividend is unsustainable, the resulting selling pressure would be significant.

The key takeaway is that the big money is betting on a sustained turnaround in net interest income, which was $134.9 million in FY 2025. If the bank can grow its earnings closer to the $47.5 million forecast for 2026, that high payout ratio will quickly become less of a concern, and the stock will likely move toward the $7.75 target. Until then, you have a stock priced for a turnaround that is still in its early stages.