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

Shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $21.00.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Piper Sandler set a $19.00 price target on OceanFirst Financial and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on OceanFirst Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th.

OceanFirst Financial Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of OceanFirst Financial stock opened at $18.60 on Friday. OceanFirst Financial has a fifty-two week low of $16.09 and a fifty-two week high of $20.61. The firm has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 15.90 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s fifty day moving average is $18.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.04. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 5.35% and a net margin of 10.04%.The company had revenue of $103.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $143.25 million. Analysts anticipate that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 27th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 27th. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.38%.

Institutional Trading of OceanFirst Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in OCFC. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the 4th quarter worth $38,976,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 97.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,388,304 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $41,963,000 after buying an additional 1,181,553 shares during the last quarter. Kestrel Investment Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $3,587,000. Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,662,653 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $29,213,000 after buying an additional 191,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP increased its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,383,588 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $24,960,000 after buying an additional 181,557 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.