Northern Trust Corp Buys 27,971 Shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC)

Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 553,363 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,971 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.95% of OceanFirst Financial worth $10,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,454 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 807.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,640 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 94,274 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,706,000 after purchasing an additional 1,863 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 44,371 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $803,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 34,999 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $633,000 after buying an additional 2,395 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:OCFC opened at $17.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 10.64 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a 12-month low of $14.03 and a 12-month high of $21.87.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.35. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 5.75%. The firm had revenue of $97.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $95.66 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.56%. OceanFirst Financial’s payout ratio is currently 52.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on OCFC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Hovde Group dropped their price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, OceanFirst Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.67.

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.