OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $20.83.

OCFC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on OceanFirst Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Hovde Group lowered 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 note on Monday, January 27th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James raised shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Friday, January 24th.

OceanFirst Financial Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of OceanFirst Financial stock opened at $17.70 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 1.05. OceanFirst Financial has a 52-week low of $14.03 and a 52-week high of $21.87. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.02. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 5.75% and a net margin of 14.45%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. OceanFirst Financial’s payout ratio is currently 48.49%.

Institutional Trading of OceanFirst Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in OceanFirst Financial by 1,036.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,466 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,337 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 807.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,640 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 82.3% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,055 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.