OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens restated an equal weight rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an outperform rating and issued a $19.00 price objective (down previously from $22.00) on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Monday. TheStreet upgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $18.20.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ OCFC opened at $14.98 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. OceanFirst Financial has a 1 year low of $12.01 and a 1 year high of $19.58. The company has a market capitalization of $891.79 million, a PE ratio of 8.76 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $15.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.39.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.34%. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CRA Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 25,314 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio raised its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 42,300 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $734,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 17,434 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 19.3% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 9,579 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 1,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 1.5% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 130,733 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,892,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About OceanFirst Financial

OceanFirst Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for OceanFirst Bank N.A. that provides community banking services to retail and commercial customers. It accepts money market accounts, savings accounts, interest-bearing checking accounts, non-interest-bearing accounts, and time deposits, that includes brokered deposits to retail, government, and business customers.