Federated Hermes Inc. Buys New Holdings in OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC)

Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 97,974 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,701,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,295,098 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $47,680,000 after buying an additional 57,423 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in OceanFirst Financial by 11.1% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,394,141 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $19,660,000 after purchasing an additional 139,646 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 3.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,234,836 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $17,868,000 after purchasing an additional 40,030 shares during the period. Endeavour Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 9.0% during the third quarter. Endeavour Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 773,694 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $11,195,000 after purchasing an additional 63,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 695,344 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $10,062,000 after purchasing an additional 43,649 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Performance

OceanFirst Financial stock opened at $14.99 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $892.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.77 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a 12-month low of $12.01 and a 12-month high of $19.58.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on OCFC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $19.00 target price (down from $22.00) on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Monday, April 22nd. TheStreet raised OceanFirst Financial from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.20.

OceanFirst Financial Company Profile

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.