Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Cuts Stake in OceanFirst Financial Corp. $OCFC

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) by 39.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 132,831 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 86,644 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.23% of OceanFirst Financial worth $2,340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 132.3% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 7,325 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 4,172 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in OceanFirst Financial by 458.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,526 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 6,998 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management raised its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 8.7% during the second quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 9,952 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $175,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 7.0% during the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 10,285 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $181,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the first quarter valued at $233,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

OceanFirst Financial Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ:OCFC opened at $19.73 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of 15.29 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50 day moving average is $18.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a 52 week low of $14.29 and a 52 week high of $20.61.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 14th. The savings and loans company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $93.08 million for the quarter. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 5.02% and a net margin of 11.77%. On average, analysts predict that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OCFC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised OceanFirst Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Friday, October 10th. DA Davidson upgraded OceanFirst Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $23.00 price objective (up previously from $21.00) on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.60.

OceanFirst Financial Company Profile

OceanFirst Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: OCFC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Toms River, New Jersey, that provides a full range of community banking and financial services through its principal subsidiary, OceanFirst Bank. Established in the early 20th century, the company has built its business around serving the deposit, lending and wealth management needs of individuals, small businesses, municipalities and nonprofit organizations across New Jersey and portions of New York.

The company’s core activities include accepting consumer and business deposits, making commercial, municipal and consumer loans, and offering residential mortgage financing.