OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $21.3333.

OCFC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James Financial cut OceanFirst Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. Wall Street Zen raised OceanFirst Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. DA Davidson downgraded OceanFirst Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd.

OceanFirst Financial Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of OceanFirst Financial stock opened at $19.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $18.84 and a 200-day moving average of $18.50. OceanFirst Financial has a 52-week low of $14.29 and a 52-week high of $20.61. The stock has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41 and a beta of 1.07.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.02. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 10.33% and a return on equity of 5.14%. The business had revenue of $104.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $103.20 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.97%.

Institutional Trading of OceanFirst Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in OCFC. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in OceanFirst Financial by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 34,193 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 140,481 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $2,390,000 after purchasing an additional 7,359 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 142,122 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $2,417,000 after buying an additional 11,262 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 107.0% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 88,353 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,503,000 after buying an additional 45,673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 3.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 398,036 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $7,009,000 after buying an additional 11,646 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.